Not Weak

How Long Will You Let Him Make a Slave of You

2011-04-14T12:55:00.001+08:00

The Devil & the Duck

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.

He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.

He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.

Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved!

In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'

But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen..'

Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?'

So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.'

Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help?

She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.

He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'

Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is....You need to know that:
God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.

He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets.

Without forgiveness from God no one can go to heaven for all were already condemned from the ways of the world.

It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today.

Share this with a friend and always remember:

God is at the window!

When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!

Complicated TRUTH

2011-04-11T15:17:00.002+08:00

Complicated truth

Christianity is not a tucked-in-tight religion | Marvin Olasky

Illustration by Krieg Barrie

Could you remind me how the Trinity works? And could you explain to me again this idea of grace?" One diligent student had no problem grasping Islam. She had no problem understanding religions based on a concept of exchange—do something for a god and he'll do something for you. But she was legitimately confused about Christianity: "The Quran is simple. Why is Christianity complicated?"

April is not the cruelest month when it includes Easter. It's great to read the Bible on mornings that are becoming warmer. I remember good evenings putting my children to bed with Sylvia Plath's The Bed Book, which praises many fanciful kinds of sleeping areas but condemns one: the "white little, tucked in tight little, nighty night little, turn out the light little, bed."

We could assess religions the same way: Tucked-in-tight religions are too symmetrical to be true. Take the smooth explanations at the website everymuslim.com. We're told that "Almighty Allah, when depriving a person of a certain ability or gift, compensates him for it, by bestowing upon him/her another gift." For example, "People who are deprived of sight have very sensitive ears."

So it all makes sense: No sight, no sweat, Allah compensates. Hinduism's doctrine of karma is also clear: If you're blind in this life, it may be because you broke someone's glasses or didn't give money to a sightless beggar in the last one.

Many Jews 2,000 years ago desired such clarity. Some asked Jesus to choose between two logical possibilities: Was a man blind because he sinned or because his parents sinned? But in chapter 9 of the Gospel according to John, Jesus explains, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."

How are those works displayed? Maybe a miracle gives sight to the blind man. Maybe a miracle occurs in other people, as they abandon natural selfishness and sacrifice to help a person in need. Sometimes we're stuck with mystery. Dorothy Sayers called Christianity the only religion that gives value to suffering—whether physical or spiritual—by affirming its reality and the opportunity to wrench some good out of it.

It would be great to understand mystery, but 19th-century pastor Charles Spurgeon put it rightly: "Providence is wonderfully intricate. Ah! You want always to see through Providence, do you not? You never will, I assure you. You have not eyes good enough. You want to see what good that affliction was to you; you must believe it. You want to see how it can bring good to the soul; you may be enabled in a little time, but you cannot see it now; you must believe it."

Spurgeon concluded that we should "honor God by trusting him." But why? We might say, "Because He's God," and that's true—but Christianity does better than that. Christianity tells us that God saw our suffering and suffered with us and for us. Christianity tells us what man-made religions like Islam or Hinduism do not: That at a specific historical moment God experienced intimately torture, abandonment, overwhelming loss, and unjust death.

Islam offers lots of definite answers, but Christianity takes after Christ in leaving some questions on the table and often offering stories rather than formulas. Don Everts and Doug Schaupp, in I Once Was Lost (IVP, 2008), state that "Jesus is asked 183 questions in the Gospels. He answers just three of them—and he asks 307 questions back."

The type of questions is also significant. Quranic questions tend to be rhetorical or hectoring: "Do they not know that Allah knows what they keep secret? (Sura 2:7). Christ's questions probe: "What do you want me to do for you?. . . How do you read the law? . . . What are you looking for?"

We're sometimes told that the Bible is our instruction manual for Planet Earth—but doesn't that make it seem like the Quran? If you're looking for a tucked-in-tight religion, Islam will do. But if you want more than a series of statements and more than a book of rules about what we should and should not do, then read the Bible and understand it as a story of what God did for us. Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.

(This article was published in http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17907 and reproduced herein. All rights belong to its owner)

An enlightening discourse on religious piety

2011-04-08T11:39:00.002+08:00

MEOR ATIQULRAHMAN ISHAK & ORS v. FATIMAH SIHI & ORS
FEDERAL COURT, PUTRAJAYA
[CIVIL APPLICATION NO: 01-3-2005 (N)]
ABDUL MALEK AHMAD, PCA; STEVE SHIM, CJ (SABAH & SARAWAK); ABDUL HAMID MOHAMAD, FCJ
12 JULY 2006

Case History :

Court Of Appeal : [2005] 2 CLJ 255

High Court : [2000] 1 CLJ 393

JUDGMENT

Abdul Hamid Mohamad FCJ:

[1] Syed Ahmad Johari bin Syed Mohd ("Syed Ahmad") is the father of the 2nd and 3rd appellants and the guardian of the 1st appellant. He and his family live in a FELDA Scheme in Serting, Bahau, Negeri Sembilan. He himself is a teacher at Sekolah Menengah FELDA Lui Barat in the same area. The three appellants were students at Sekolah Kebangsaan Serting Hilir (FELDA), Bandar Baru Serting, Negeri Sembilan. At the material time, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd appellants were in Standard 5, 3 and 2 respectively and about 11, 9 and 8 years old respectively.

[2] The school had issued the Peraturan Sekolah Kebangsaan Serting (FELDA) 1997 ("The School Regulations 1997"), made pursuant to Surat Pekeliling Ikhtisas Bil. 9/1975 issued by the Ministry of Education.

[3] Regulation 3 of the School Regulations 1997 stipulates, inter alia, that the uniform for male pupils comprises of blue black long pants, white short-sleeved shirt, white rubber shoes and socks. Regulation 3(f)(v) provides that black or blue black songkok is allowed to be worn. However, in reg. 3(i)(i), all pupils are prohibited from wearing "jubah, turban (serban), topi, ketayap dan purdah".

[4] The appellants wore turban as part of the school uniform to school. They were advised not to do so and to comply with the School Regulations 1997. When they refused, the 1st respondent requested Syed Ahmad to see her. At a meeting on 3 April 1997, the 1st respondent requested Syed Ahmad to cooperate to ensure that the appellants adhere to the School Regulations 1997. He refused to cooperate and the appellants continued to wear turban to school.

[5] On 28 July 1997 and 4 August 1997 the respondent sent two letters to Syed Ahmad informing him about the appellants' breach of the School Regulations 1997 and for the appellants to substitute "songkok" for the turban. The 1st respondent again requested for Syed Ahmad's cooperation to avoid disciplinary action being taken against the appellants.

[6] On 30 August 1997 the Director of Education of Negeri Sembilan wrote to Syed Ahmad stressing that the appellants had to observe the regulations "demi kepentingan dan kesejahteraan warga sekolah dan masyarakat sekitar".

[7] As the appellants continued to refuse to comply with the regulations, on 3 November 1997 the 1st respondent sent a letter to Syed Ahmad informing him that the appellants had been expelled from the school with effect from 10 November 1997.

[8] They challenged their dismissal in court. The learned judge found in their favour, inter alia, ruling that the School Regulations 1997 was unconstitutional ([2000] 1 CLJ 393.) The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment of the High Court ([2005] 2 CLJ 255).

[9] This court granted leave to appeal on one issue only:

Whether the regulations prohibiting the wearing of "serban" by school pupils violate Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution.

[10] So, the issue before this court is not whether the wearing of turban is constitutional or not but whether the School Regulations 1997, in so far as it prohibits the wearing of turban by the students of the school as part of the school uniform during school hours is constitutional or not.

[11] Before us, learned counsel for the appellants argued that the regulation prohibiting students from wearing turban violates the provisions of art. 11(1) of the Federal Constitution. That article provides:

11(1) Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

[12] He argued that this appeal relates to the right to practise one's religion but submitted that the word "profess" and "practise" must be read together (I do not quite understand what he meant by "must be read together".) He submitted that the right to practise one's religion includes every religious practice "which have some basis or become part of that religion whether they are mandatory or otherwise." That right can only be restricted if, by exercising such rights, it affects public order, public health and public morality enshrined in art. 11(5) of the Constitution. Learned counsel further submitted that the right to wear turban, even though not mandatory, is part of "Islamic prophetic teaching".

[13] The Court of Appeal, in arriving at its conclusion, applied the test of whether "the right to wear a "serban" is an integral part of the religion of Islam". The court said that that is a question of evidence and it was for the appellants to adduce sufficient relevant admissible material to prove that that is indeed the case. The court concluded:

there was not a shred of evidence before the learned judge confirming that the wearing of a serban is mandatory in Islam and is therefore an integral part of Islam.

[14] The Court of Appeal in applying "the integral part of the religion" test relied on a number of Indian authorities like The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras, v. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar AIR [1954] SC 282, Sardar Syedna Taher Saifuddin Saheb v. State of Bombay AIR [1962] SC 853, Javed v. State of Haryana (AIR) [2003] SC 3057 and Commissioner of Police v. Acharya Jagadishwaranada Avadhuta [2004] 2 LRI 39. The court also referred to the judgment of the Malaysian Supreme Court in Hajjah Halimatussadiah bte Hj. Kamaruddin v. Public Services Commission Malaysia & Anor [1994] 3 CLJ 532 where the Supreme Court applied the same test.

[15] Before us, the test was strongly criticised. Learned counsel for the appellants argued that by giving such an interpretation the court was "rewriting art. 11(1) or putting a new or an extra/additional restrictions on the right to profess and practice one's religion apart from the existing restrictions contained/enshrined in art. 11(5) of the Federal Constitution." The Court of Appeal was criticised for relying on Indian authorities, especially because of the differences between the provisions of the Indian Constitution and the Federal Constitution, in particular, the preamble to the Indian Constitution declares India to be a secular state and no religion of the state is provided. It is also said, who is to decide whether a particular practice is an integral part of a religion or not?

[16] I must stress here that, we are only concerned with the words "practise his religion". There is no doubt that the "integral part of the religion" approach has its merits. Otherwise, in a country with many religions being practised, to allow a regulation or law to be declared unconstitutional just because someone claims that it prohibits his "religious practice" no matter how trivial it is and even though in a very limited way, would lead to chaos. However, in my view, that test has its demerits too, because it would lead to the following results: so long as a practice is an integral part of a religion, any restriction or limitation, even regulatory, would be unconstitutional. On the other hand, if the practice is not an integral part of a religion, it can even be prohibited completely. The circumstances under which the law or regulation is made may be such that it is justifiable to restrict or regulate it during a period and at the place when and where it is to operate. A constitution is expected to be in force so long as the country exists but circumstances may change dramatically from time to time, even from place to place. On the other hand, a practice may not be an integral part of the teaching of a religion, in the Islamic sense, it may be a "sunat" eg, performing the "sunat" prayers. Using this test, it can be prohibited absolutely and forever. I do not think that is right.

[17] I am therefore of the view that whether a practice is or is not an integral part of a religion is not the only factor that should be considered. Other factors are equally important in considering whether a particular law or regulation is constitutional or not under art. 11(1) of the Federal Constitution. I would therefore prefer the following approach. First, there must be a religion. Secondly, there must be a practice. Thirdly, the practice is a practice of that religion. All these having been proved, the court should then consider the importance of the practice in relation to the religion. This is where the question whether the practice is an integral part of the religion or not becomes relevant. If the practice is of a compulsory nature or "an integral part" of the religion, the court should give more weight to it. If it is not, the court, again depending on the degree of its importance, may give a lesser weight to it.

[18] In the Islamic context, the classification made by jurists on the "hukum" regarding a particular practice will be of assistance. Prohibition of a practice which is "wajib" (mandatory) should definitely be viewed more seriously than the prohibition of what is "sunat" (commendable).

[19] The next step is to look at the extent or seriousness of the prohibition. A total prohibition certainly should be viewed more seriously than a partial or temporary prohibition. For example, a regulation that prohibits an adult Muslim male from leaving his job to perform the Friday prayer is more serious than a regulation that requires adult male Muslims employees to take turns to perform their "Asar" prayer, all within the "Asar" period.

[20] Then, we will have to look at the circumstances under which the prohibition is made. An air traffic controller will have to be at his post even during Friday prayers, where replacement by a non-Muslim or a female employee is not possible. A surgeon who starts an emergency operation just before the "Maghrib" prayer may have to miss his prayer. (Even the Shariah provides exceptions and relaxation of its application under certain circumstances).

[21] In other words, in my view, all these factors should be considered in determining whether the "limitation" or "prohibition" of a practice of a religion is constitutional or unconstitutional under art. 11(1) of the Federal Constitution.

[22] Who is to decide? Of course, it has to be the court when the matter comes before the court. Expert witnesses may be called to assist the court regarding a practise or, in the case of Islam, the issue regarding the "hukum" of the practice may be referred to the Shari'ah Committees (Fatwa Committees) in the States or the National Fatwa Council. Such a reference had been made by the Supreme Court in Dalip Kaur v. Pegawai Polis Daerah, Balai Polis Daerah, Bukit Mertajam & Anor. [1991] 3 CLJ 2768; [1991] 1 CLJ (Rep) 77.

[23] In this case, that Islam is a religion is a fact that cannot be denied.

[24] The next question is whether the wearing of turban by boys of the age of the appellants is a practice of the religion of Islam. Islam is not about turban and beard. The pagan Arabs, including Abu Jahl, wore turbans and kept beards. It was quite natural for the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), born into the community and grew up in it, to do the same. As it was not repugnant to the teaching of Islam, he continued to do so. During the argument, in answer to my question, learned counsel tried to equate the wearing of turban with the "Hajj": the "Hajj" too was performed in pre-Islamic days and continued to be performed after the coming of Islam. That, with respect, is misconceived. The "Hajj" performed by the pagan Arabs was completely different from the "Hajj" taught by the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). Further more, there are clear provisions in the Al-Quran that make the performance of the "Hajj" mandatory and one of the pillars of Islam.

[25] Turbans were (and are) not only worn by Arabs. Other peoples, living in the desert or semi-desert areas, eg, the Afghans and Persians wore/wear them too. Indeed, anybody who goes to Mecca will immediately realize that a piece of cloth, by whatever name it is called, to cover his head and face from the heat, the dryness and the dust, is most useful. Nowadays, the turbans, distinguished by their designs and the way they are tied or worn, symbolize the nationality of the persons wearing them eg, whether they are Saudis, Sudanese, Afghans, Omanis, etc. The turban has become part of the national dress of those countries.

[26] In Malaysia, until 1960's, the turban worn the way the appellants wear them, were only worn by "Hajis", men who had performed the Hajj (pilgrimage). There were few "Hajis" then, one or two in a village. Of course the wearing of turban carried with it a social status, a sign of "alim" (knowledgeable in matters of Islamic religion) and "warak" (piety). Non-Hajis would not wear them. They would be ashamed to do so.

[27] Then came 1970's and the appearance of "dakwah" (missionary) groups. They distinguished themselves by their dress, the men and their male children wore "jubah" and "serban". One such organization had been declared unlawful. We saw their top leaders confessing, crying and repenting over television!

[28] It is interesting to note that, even now, very few of our Muftis and hardly any Shari'ah Court Judge wears turban.

[29] Coming now to boys of the age of the appellants. According to Shari'ah (and/or fiqh), the obligation to perform even a mandatory ("wajib") practice like the five daily prayers, is only mandatory on Muslims who have attained the age of majority ("baligh"), usually taken to be 15 years of age for boys. Clearly the appellants have not. Of course it is obligatory on the parent or guardian to teach them how to perform the prayers, for example, and to encourage them to perform them even before they reach the age of majority. So, even with regard to practices that are mandatory ("wajib"), the Shari'ah treats adults and children differently, like any law, for that matter.

[30] The best place to see whether it is the practice of boys, I am speaking about Arab and Arabic-speaking boys (not Malay boys living in a FELDA settlement), of the age of the appellants to wear turban or not, is to go to Masjid Al-Haram, the birthplace of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), where the "House of Allah" ("Baitullah" or the "Kaabah") stands. Go there after the "Asar" prayer. One can see scores of boys of the age of the appellants sitting cross-legged learning to read and reciting the Al-Quran. None of them wears turban, whether tied the way the appellants do or otherwise.

[31] (I must admit that these observations that I have made do not come from evidence adduced in court. However, sitting in the highest court in the country and interpreting the Constitution, I hold the view that a judge is entitled to look around and observe the happenings in the society. These are matters that one sees in everyday life. No expertise or technical qualification is required to observe such happenings. Neither should judges not read anything other than law. I do not think that judges should keep their eyes shut and only wait for "expert witnesses" to inform them such things as the kind of dress Malaysians usually wear or that we can hardly find bullock carts on Malaysian road nowadays. "Justice is blind". Yes. But not judges. They should not be).

[32] As far as I can ascertain, the Al-Quran makes no mention about the wearing of turban. Neither SP3 nor the learned trial judge who cited some verses from the Al-Quran which, with respect, are not relevant to the issue, could produce any. The one "hadith" referred to by SP3 makes no mention of its classification in terms of authoritativeness. In any event one does not look at one "hadith" in isolation to make a ruling on a matter. Even then, the way it is said, (based on the evidence given by SP3: "Hadith: hendaklah kelian memakai serban kerana kelian akan bertambah sabar") shows that there is a reason for it. As far as the reason given, I shall not comment. Certainly the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) knows his people better and what suits them. The other "hadith" mentioned by SP3 only tells us how the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) used to wear his turban, nothing more. Of course, I am also aware of other "hadiths", not mentioned by SP3 or the learned trial judge, that prohibit the wearing of turban by men when in "ihram". They do not assist us.

[33] It is also not disputed that there had been no "fatwa" in this country on the wearing of turban.

[34] I accept that the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) wore turban. But he also rode a camel, built his house and mosque with clay walls and roof of leaves of date palms and brushed his teeth with the twig of a plant. Does that make the riding a camel a more pious deed than travelling in an aeroplane? Is it preferable to build houses and mosques using the same materials used by the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and the same architecture adopted by him during his time? In Malaysia, Muslim houses and mosques would leak when it rains! There would be no Blue Mosque or Taj Mahal, not even the present Masjid Al-Haram and Masjid Al-Nabawi, Alhambra or Putrajaya that the Muslims can be proud of! Again, is it more Islamic to brush one's teeth with a twig than using a modern tooth brush with tooth paste and water to wash in the privacy of one's bathroom?

[35] It is not everything that the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) did or the way he did it that is legally (according to Shariah) or religiously binding on Muslims or even preferable and should be followed.

[36] I find the book "Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence" by Mohammad Hashim Kamali (1991) to be very useful in understanding the issue on "Sunnah". I shall only quote certain parts that are of particular relevance to the issue under discussion:

The entire bulk of the Sunnah, that is, the sayings, acts and tacit enactments of the Prophet, may be once again divided into two types: non-legal and legal Sunnah.

Non-legal Sunnah (Sunnah ghayr tashri'iyyah) mainly consists of the natural activities of the Prophet (al-af'al al'jibilliyyah) such as the manner in which he ate, slept, dressed, and such other activities as do not seek to constitute a part of the Shari'ah. Activities of this nature are not of primary importance to the Prophetic mission and therefore do not constitute legal norms. According to the majority of ulema, the Prophet's preferences in these areas, such as his favourite colours, or the fact that he slept on his right side in the first place, etc., only indicate the permissibility (ibahah) of the acts in question.²⁹

...

On a similar note, Sunnah which partakes in specialized or technical knowledge, such as medicine, commerce and agriculture, is once again held to be peripheral to the main function of the Prophetic mission and is therefore not a part of the Shari'ah. As for acts and sayings of the Prophet that related to particular circumstances such as the strategy of war, including such devices that misled the enemy forces, timing of attack, siege or withdrawal, these too are considered to be situational and not a part of the Shari'ah.³¹

...

Certain activities of the Prophet may fall in between the two categories of legal and non-legal Sunnah as they combine the attributes of both. Thus it may be difficult to determine whether an act was strictly personal or was intended to set an example for others to follow. It is also known that at times the Prophet acted in a certain way which was in accord with the then prevailing custom of the community. For instance, the Prophet kept his beard at a certain length and trimmed his moustache. The majority of ulema have viewed this not as a mere observance of the familiar usage at the time but as an example for the believers to follow. Others have held the opposite view by saying that it was a part of the social practice of the Arabs which was designed to prevent resemblance to the Jews and some non-Arabs who used to shave the beard and grow the moustache. Such practices were, in other words, a part of the current usage and basically optional. Similarly, it is known that the Prophet used to go to the "id prayers (salat al-'id) by one route and return from the mosque by a different route, and that the Prophet at times performed the hajj pilgrimage while riding a camel. The Shafi'i jurists are inclined to prefer the commendable (mandub) in such acts to mere permissibility whereas the Hanafis consider them as merely permissible, or mubah.³⁴

[37] SP3 gave his opinion that the wearing of turban is "sunat". Clearly he based his opinion on the views of the traditional jurists - the turban - wearing scholars from turban-wearing communities who lived at a time when the wearing of turban was customary or fashionable. Certainly their surroundings could have, to a certain extent, influenced their views on a matter such as the wearing of turban where Al-Quran is silent. That is natural. Imam Shafie revised some of his rulings after living in Egypt for a few years and observing the custom of the people there. That is the mark of a great jurist!

[38] Even if we were to accept the view of SP3 that the wearing of turban (by adult Muslim male) is "sunat" or (commendable), it certainly does not rank on the same level as "sunat prayers", as learned counsel for the appellants tried to convince the court when the question was put to him by me.

[39] So, the "practice" is of little significance from the point of view of the religion of Islam, what more, in relation to under-aged boys. Certainly, it is not a part of "Islamic prophetic teaching" as submitted by the learned counsel for the appellants.

[40] Moving to the second factor which, in my view, should be considered ie, the extent of the "prohibition".

[41] We are not dealing with a total prohibition of wearing of the turban. The students, primary school students of the school, are not allowed to wear the turban as part of the school uniform, ie, during the school hours. They are not prevented from wearing the turban at other times. Even in school, certainly, they would not be prevented from wearing the turban when they perform, say, their "Zohor" prayer in the school "surau" (prayer room). But, if they join the "Boy Scout", it is only natural if they are required to wear the Scouts uniform during its activities. Or, when they play football, naturally they would be required to wear shorts and T-shirts. Should they be allowed to wear "jubah" when playing football because it was the practice of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to wear jubah? Following the arguments or learned counsel for the appellants, they should. Certainly, there is a place for everything.

[42] Furthermore, there is nothing to prevent them from changing school, eg, to a "pondok" school that would allow them to wear the turban.

[43] To accept the learned counsel's argument would mean that anybody has a right to do anything, any time, anywhere which he considers to be a practice of his religion, no matter how trivial. The only limit is cl. (5). To me, that cannot be the law.

[44] Coming now to the third factor that in my view, should be considered ie, the circumstances under which the "prohibition" was made.

[45] Whether we like it or not, we have to accept that Malaysia is not the same as a Malay State prior to the coming of the British. She is multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious. It is difficult enough to keep the 14 States together. By any standard, Malaysia's success has been miraculous in terms of unity, peace and prosperity. Whatever other factors that had contributed to it, we cannot ignore the educational system that had helped to mould the minds of Malaysian boys and girls to grow up as Malaysians. Recently, we heard about "polarization" of students at universities not only on racial and religious grounds but also among the Muslim students themselves. The polarization was considered serious and even a dangerous trend. Hence, national service was introduced. Of course, such polarization does not begin the moment the students step into the campus. The seeds were sown and grew while they were in school. Our educationists, with their experience in dealing with students on the ground, should be given some respect and credit when they formulate some regulations applicable in their schools for the general good of all the students, the society and later the nation.

[46] Look at these three appellants. During their formative years, when they should be attending school, studying and playing with other students, obeying the school discipline, respecting their teachers, they were made to spend those years being different from other students, disregard the school regulations, disobey the teachers, rebel against the authorities, just because Syed Ahmad, described by the learned trial judge as "angkuh" wanted the three appellants to wear the turban to school because the turban is his family's emblem!

[47] Considering all these factors, in my judgment, the School Regulations 1997 in so far as it prohibits the students from wearing turban as part of the school uniform during school hours does not contravene the provision of art. 11(1) of the Federal Constitution and therefore is not unconstitutional.

[48] I would dismiss the appeal with costs here and in the courts below and order that the deposit be paid to the respondents to account of taxed costs.

[49] Both the learned President of the Court of Appeal and the learned Chief Judge (Sabah & Sarawak) had read this judgment in draft and agreed with it. The court orders accordingly.

[This case report can be found in the Current Law Journal: [2006] 4 CLJ 1.]

Unoffendable

2011-04-04T10:52:00.002+08:00

By Francis Frangipane

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26).

God has a new heart for us that cannot be offended, an "unoffendable" heart. Beloved, possessing an unoffendable heart is not an option or a luxury; it's not a little thing. An offended heart is endanger of becoming a "heart of stone."

Consider: Jesus warns that, as we near the end of the age, a majority of people will be offended to such a degree that they fall away from the faith. Listen carefully to His warning:

"Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another . . . and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:10-12 KJV).

"Many" will "be offended." The result? The love of "many" will grow cold. My prayer is that we will hear His words with holy fear.

When we allow an offense to remain in our hearts, it causes serious spiritual consequences. In the above verse Jesus named three dangerous results: betrayal, hatred and cold love. When we are offended with someone, even someone we care for, we must go to them. If we do not talk to them, we will begin to talk about them. We betray that relationship, whispering maliciously behind their back to others, exposing their weaknesses and sins. We may mask our betrayal by saying we are just looking for advice or counsel, but when we look back, we see we have spoken negatively to far too many people. Our real goal was not to get spiritual help for ourselves but to seek revenge toward the one who offended us. How is such action not a manifestation of hatred? For an offended soul, cold love, betrayal and hatred are a walk into darkness.

People don't stumble over boulders; they stumble over stones, relatively small things. It may be that the personality of someone in authority bothers us, and soon we are offended. Or, a friend or family member fails to meet our expectations, and we take an offense into our soul. Beloved, if we will "endure to the end," we will have to confront the things that bother us.

When Jesus warns that we need endurance, He is saying that it is easier to begin the race than finish it. Between now and the day you die, there will be major times of offense that you will need to overcome. You might be in such a time right now. Do not minimize the danger of harboring an offense!

No one plans on falling away; no one ever says, "Today, I think I'll try to develop a hardened heart of stone." Such things enter our souls through stealth. It is only naiveté that assumes it couldn't happen to us. I know many people who consistently become offended about one thing or another. Instead of dealing with the offenses, praying about them and turning the issue over to God, they carry the offense in their soul until its weight disables their walk with God. You may be doing fine today, but I guarantee you, tomorrow something will happen that will inevitably disappoint or wound you; some injustice will strike you, demanding you retaliate in the flesh. Will you find more love, and hence, continue your growth toward Christlikeness? Or will you allow that offense to consume your spiritual life?

The Root Of Offense
An offense can strike at our virtues or sins, our values or our pride. It can penetrate and wound any dimension of the soul, both good and evil. I once brought a series of messages about gossip. Most people saw their sin and repented, but a core group of gossips were greatly offended and ultimately left the church. When the Holy Spirit exposes sin in someone's soul, if we refuse the opportunity to repent, we often become offended at the person who brought the teaching. Instead of humbling our hearts, we are outraged at the person who exposed us. Truthfully, most of the time, I have no idea who specifically needs to hear what I'm teaching, but God knows.

Paul told Timothy to "reprove, rebuke, exhort" (see 2 Tim. 4:2). He didn't say, "exhort, exhort, exhort," but exhortation is what we receive in most churches. Certainly, we need to be encouraged, but there are also times, beloved, when we need to be reproved and rebuked. Today, there are preachers who are afraid to preach truth for fear people will react and leave the church. The end result is a church of easily offended people who cannot grow beyond their inability to accept correction.

People don't change by exhortation alone. There are areas in all of us that need to be confronted and disciplined. The pastor who refuses to discipline and correct those in sin is in disobedience to God. He is unable to lead people into any truly transforming changes in their lives; they will not "endure to the end" if they cannot be corrected (see Matt. 24).

We need to become a people who say, "Lord, show me what needs to change in me." I'm talking about growing up. A wise man will receive a rebuke and he will prosper. But a fool rejects his father's discipline (see Prov. 15:5).

Personal Offense
It is often our pride that suffers offense most easily. Pride leads us to expect more than we deserve. Pride is a form of self-worship. God must destroy our pride, and to do so, He will allow offenses to expose what we lack in humility. It is not wrong to expect encouragement for our good works, but we cannot be offended when it doesn't happen in the timing we are expecting.

Years ago when I was a young pastor, I attended a conference where the main leader decided to personally greet each minister and spouse. He greeted the couple on our right and then turned to his staff to ask a question. A moment later he returned, but passed us by and went to the couple on our left. Everyone around us saw we were bypassed. We were embarrassed and offended. But my wife wisely observed that we could allow this thing to hurt us or we could see it as an investment in sensitivity toward other people's feelings. The offense taught us how others feel when they are ignored. Do you see this? You must make that offense become an opportunity to become more Christlike.

The occasions for taking offense are practically endless. Indeed, we are daily given the opportunity to either be offended by something or to possess an unoffendable heart. The Lord's promise is that He's given us a new heart - a soft, entreatable heart that can be filled with His Spirit and abound with His love.

Lord, forgive me for being so easily offended and for carrying offenses. Father, my heart is foolish and weak. Grant me the unoffendable heart of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Days of Elijah

2011-03-29T21:26:00.001+08:00

These are the days of Elijah,

Declaring the word of the Lord
And these are the days of your servant, Moses
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
'Prepare ye the way of the Lord!'

Behold, he comes, riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call
Lift your voice, it's the year of jubilee
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh
And these are the days of your servant, David,
Rebuilding the temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in your world
And we are the labourers in your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord!

There's no god like Jehovah!
There's no god like Jehovah!

Time of Reflection

2011-03-29T19:21:00.002+08:00

Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

7 Ways to Boost Creativity and Brain Power

2010-11-24T11:10:00.002+08:00

Strengthen Your Brain Muscles

Just like your body, you can improve your mental fitness with these simple exercises.

Take a deep breath. Breathing is the only bodily function that we do both voluntarily and involuntarily. Inhale and exhale deeply to improve your physiological and psychological well-being.

Tell a good story. Sharing experiences in a compelling and fun way sharpens your mental recall.

Mix up your routine. Take a different route to work, or sit with your legs crossed opposite the way you normally would. Changing your typical way of doing things tells your brain to wake up and pay attention.

Write. Writing notes, poetry, stories or in a journal helps your memory, clarifies your thinking and engages your creativity.

Laugh. Endorphins released when you laugh lower your stress and can help your long-term health.

Perfect your posture. Try solving a problem while slouching down at your desk versus sitting upright and see how it impacts your outcome. Proper posture improves blood flow to your brain bringing mental clarity and improved memory.

(Source: Seeds of Success)

Five Regrets of the Dying

2010-10-30T00:27:00.004+08:00

This is an article from Bronnie Ware, a singer/song writer from Australia. Where is your life heading?

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learned never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, but in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to themselves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

The author's blog can be found here.

Love

2010-06-27T01:57:00.003+08:00

However in 1979, the (Nobel Peace Prize) banquet was cancelled in Oslo because the laureatte Mother Teresa refused to attend, saying the money could be better spent on the poor. She used the US$7,000 that was to be spent on the banquet to hold a dinner for 2,000 homeless people on Christmas Day. Bless her heart.

- The Star, Saturday, 26th June 2010, p WE19

2010-06-03T01:00:00.006+08:00

"Highly motivated achievers find the strength of their motivation in the power of their imagination.

One of the wonderful aspects about human imagination is that it can see things not as they are now, but as they can be; it can foretell the future, based upon our beliefs and expectations, in an almost uncanny way; it can draw the colorful mental images that we hope someday to turn into reality. Imagination is the beginning of creation."

Quoted from Denis Waitley. Read more

2010-06-02T00:38:00.003+08:00

What if your only passion is to be in the bomb-defusing squad?

"Come, let us return to the Lord"

2009-09-07T23:34:00.001+08:00

YOU’LL COME
(Hosea 6) Brooke Fraser 2007

Verse 1
I have decided I have resolved
To wait upon you Lord
My rock and redeemer shall not be moved
I'll wait upon you Lord

Prechorus
As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
As certain as the dawn appears

Chorus
You'll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit reign flood our hearts
With holy fire again

Verse 2
We are not shaken we are not moved
We wait upon you Lord
Our Mighty deliverer my triumph and truth
I'll wait upon you Lord

Bridge
Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

Saved to Influence the World

2008-05-25T15:07:00.002+08:00

Perhaps it's destiny. Perhaps it's good marketing. Or perhaps it's just me wanting to know more. But the May 12 2008 issue of Time Magazine (Double Issue) is the most inspiring read of the year so far for me. It is good in the one hand to know about the 100 Most Influential Persons of the year (for Time anyway); on the other hand it is comforting to know someone is doing something to make the world a better place (most but not all of the 100, I think).

But is it really enough just to make the world a better place? Yes and no. Before I venture into the answer, I have come to inner consensus that each of us homo sapiens have a inherent duty to make our habitat more "livable", so to speak. And by livable, I don't only mean environmentally livable- but socially livable as well. If everyone on earth could make 5 persons smile and help out 5 persons (just a suggestion, not a rule), then that has to make 6.7 billion in the world tenfold happier(do the math). That, indeed, also is the essence of Love Thy Neighbor - the pillars of my Faith and of our society.

And to Love thy neighbor is only to fulfil one part of the dichotomy of the Christian Faith - the first and foremost being Love the Lord. That, only one person could do among Time's 100 Most Influential.

His name is Kaka. If you can't identify the name, you are not a fan of football, not even a spectator. Named FIFA's footballer of the year 2007, the Brazilian midfielder is a class of his own. His boyish face represents the youthfulness of footballing, his skills represents the finest in the Beautiful Game. But not many will know him as a child of God- in football, the cross is not a good thing (for example, in a penalty shootout - a cross signifies a miss). But after appearing on Time, perhaps many more will know that Kaka's believes in a God that is more graceful than his feet. This is a portion of Casey Keller's testimony for the 26 year-old AC Milan player:

There is, however, more to him than sport. In 2004, Kaka became the UN World Food Program's youngest ambassador. And he is devoted to his faith. An evangelical Christian, Kaka has talked publicly about becoming a minister when he retires from the game. After winning the European Champions League final last year, he took off his jersey to reveal a T shirt that read, I BELONG TO JESUS.

I might question whether soccer stadiums are the right venue for promoting religion, but in an age in which many professional athletes care more about cars, women and controversy, it's refreshing to see one who is committed to having a positive impact on the world around him.

If I ever want to influence the world into a better place (and I do), I want to do it like Kaka. To strive to be the best, to help the poor and needy, and after all that proclaim that I did it through my Lord and Saviour.

I also admire cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, who taught the world that "...after Lance, no one of us could ever again say it was too hard, the odds stacked against us were too high, the fight already lost" (quoted from Elizabeth Edwards in Time's 100).

Strength for the Day

2008-05-21T03:11:00.002+08:00

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 "All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.

12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.

13 For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

Quitting PS2

2008-05-20T19:31:00.004+08:00

Did you know I have a PS2? I do! In fact I play it very often. Usually only to play one silly football sim game. But not after today. Tomorrow is a new day: time to be serious on CLP (Certificate of Lethal Poison). So, I'll be 'retiring' from PS-ing, for now. Hope to read more... and study more.

Today is the day to make a decision.

Prayer Points

2008-05-18T00:54:00.002+08:00

The world is an increasingly unsettled place with more conflicts and natural disasters. There are "birth pains" as Jesus would call it.

Judgment Day aside, the God of all compassion is looking down and extending His hands of mercy on the people of China and Myanmar and other places where conflict seems to be unending. He is the God of unfailing love and the people who lost their loved ones and those searching for meaning amidst disasters must know that in their hearts. The Messiah saves today!

Pray for:
1. Victims of the earthquake in Sichuan Province, China - and for the authorities to respond with efficiency in the recovery.

2. That the storm victims in Myanmar will get sufficient aid and supplies to survive through the dire conditions after the storm. Pray that the Junta will allow more help to go in to save the helpless children and widows etc.

A Love Song

2008-05-15T01:25:00.002+08:00

I remember singing this song in church several years ago. It's a beautiful song and echoes my soul as well. (The song is embedded on the video bar on your right)

Sing (Your Love)
Hillsong United

It used to be darkness
Without You I lived my life in blindness
But now I'm found

And I'll sing,I sing I love You so
And I'll sing
Because the world can't take away
Your love

You found me in weakness
Broken
You came to me in kindness
And now I live

And I'll sing, sing I love You so
And I'll sing Because the world can't take away Your
love
And I'll sing, sing and I love You soIll sing because the
world can't take away Your love

I give my life for you Lord
For all You've done I'll give my life for You Lord for all
You've done
I'll give my life for You Lord for all You've done
I'll give my life for You Lord for all You've done
I'll give my life for You lord for all You've done
.......

God so loved ... Edison Chen ... that He gave his life for him

2008-05-06T12:00:00.003+08:00

If you "so happen" bump into my blog, please read the blog post by jaesonma.com also. I have been forwarding it around but our Lord Jesus deserves more "forwarding".Don't you agree?

Pray for Edison Chen, Me and the World

Dear Bros and Sis in Christ,

I have a very urgent and special prayer request. For nearly 2 months now I have not announced publicly, even to my prayer team to protect the confidentiality of the fragile situation I am about to tell you. In February the Holy Spirit led me supernaturally to a special young man named "Edison Chen." He is a famous pop star in Hong Kong and China who recently this year was involved in a internet sex scandal that received worldwide attention. My heart broke for this young man when I heard the news. I prayed for him to find the love of God and the forgiveness that is offered through Jesus Christ. I also prayed that God would use this situation for greater good, somehow to redeem and bless the youth and families of Asia. Through a series of divine circumstances in February God brought me to Edison, I shared the Gospel and God's personal prophetic word to him and Edison gave his life to Christ. His heart was genuine, his repentance was true, and I was so happy to see a new brother find God's forgiveness, mercy and grace. God truly loves Edison. The days after, many others in his family and circle of friends came to know Christ. It was a supernatural experience, that only God could orchestrate.

Yesterday night, I found out that one of the largest secular magazines in Hong Kong/Asia had caught wind of Edison's conversion and wrote a front page story on our friendship. I was very much in shock to hear about this because I had not spoken about this publicly for nearly 2 months. I was more surprised when my contact in Hong Kong told me the article was 100% positive, shared about my own conversion experience, my personal ministry and how Edison is starting a new life and new path in Christ. Honestly, when I heard this news knowing that millions all over Asia would read this uplifting article and possibly find Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, I wept.

I wept with joy for Edison and all the millions in Asia who have been negatively effected by the sin & immorality that was spread. I knew God was restoring Edison, a prodigal son who had returned to his heavenly Father. I wept, because God spoke to me when I met Edison that He would bring greater good from this scandal than evil. That what Satan meant for evil, God would turn for good. I am thankful to God because I know millions who read this magazine will see that God has forgiven Edison Chen and all the victims, showing them His love and mercy. Therefore, those who read this article after realizing that God has forgiven Edison, will also realize that Jesus can forgive their sins and give them hope for a new life in Christ. Please pray that God uses this testimony to bless the masses with the power of the Gospel. Good News is spreading in Asia, Jesus died on the cross and resurrected on the third day so our sins could be forgiven and anyone who believes in Him will not die, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Now I ask you for prayer. Edison Chen, the Victims and myself need your prayers more than ever before.

Please pray for Edison Chen and others...

1. Pray for protection from media pressure: There is a lot of pressure with an public article like this to perform as a Christian. Please pray that people realize Edison and others who have become Christian are still a work in progress. As I am a work in progress myself. No one is perfect, we are all human and we all need love and forgiveness. God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but to trust in His mercy and grace. Pray that God would protect this story and situation against gossip, accusation or deception, but only the truth of Jesus Christ would continually be uplifted in the media.

2. Please pray millions of Christians around the world would pray for Edison, his family, the victims to be strengthened in faith, comforted and restored to be a testimony to society in a positive way. Pray that the many victims of this situation would also find faith and forgiveness in Christ.

3. Pray that many who read this article and story would be saved. Pray that those who read this testimony of Edison's repentance and faith in Christ, my own personal testimony will realize that God loves them also, that they can be forgiven of their sins and have a new life in Jesus Christ. Pray as they realize God has forgiven Edison, He will also forgive them.

4. Pray that my family and I would be a great testimony for Christ. Please pray that God would protect and help me and my family in America and Hong Kong to be good witnesses for Christ. I am returning to Hong Kong in May for ministry and I need God's wisdom in how to talk about this story to others so that they see Christ and not me or anyone else. May He keep me, Edison and all others humble, so that we decrease but Christ would increase.

5. Ask God to turn what was meant for evil into good. Pray that through this scandal, that greater good would come out of this than evil. Pray that millions will be inspired, touched and put their faith in Jesus Christ across the world. This scandal was probably one of the biggest news stories in Asia in the last decade, many were adversely affected, but God now can turn the tide and bring hope and healing to all the world and turn tragedy into triumph!

Lastly, I just really want you all to keep this low key and simply "pray" if you read this. Pray for Edison, he is like a brother to me. I love him and he has a good heart. Many people will try to ridicule or doubt what has happened, but it doesn't matter because I know him and he is not only truly repentant, but he is doing his best to become a better man, change his ways, and live for God. He is a good person. We all make mistakes. I urge the public who reads this, judge not or you will be judged as the Bible says. Forgive Edison, the victims and ask God to forgive your own sins, because none of us are perfect and we all need Jesus forgiveness. Edison is a good man, God loves him, knows his heart is truly sorry and will restore him to be a great role model in society. I know it, I have faith not only for him but for all who are affected by this. Pray for Edison's spiritual restoration. Because t's not easy, Edison, his family, his friends and myself are all God's work in progress and we need prayers, patience, mercy and grace from everyone to not point the finger, gossip or anything else, but to simply pray asking God to make us more like Christ each day and to be a testimony for Him in this generation. May God receive all the glory in this.

Below is the magazine article. God is faithful. Please pray right now for God's will to be done. Thank you!

Under the mercy,

JMA

For anyone who read this blog post and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, but you want to know Him. You want to repent and be forgiven of your sins then read what the Good News of Jesus is all about here

... read more of this blog entry here.

Return on Investment

2008-04-19T17:55:00.000+08:00

You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit. —1 Corinthians 6:20

Long before the US professional baseball season begins each spring, team owners and managers are busy negotiating trades and contracts. They'll pay large sums of money to get the athlete who will help them win the championship. When the season starts, all eyes are on the newly acquired talent to see if he was worth the cost. The ultimate measure of the player's success is whether his contribution to the team is a good return on the investment.
In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul reminds us that we too have been "bought at a price." The context paints a compelling picture of Christ's great sacrifice. He liberated us from the cruel slavemaster of sin by buying us with the high price of His own life.
Getting a grip on God's great and loving investment in us should motivate us to gladly consider making His sacrifice rich in dividends. How is that return on His investment measured? By living to bring glory to Him! Our eyes, hands, feet, thoughts, dreams, and desires have been purchased to reflect the wondrous glory of God's will and wisdom. In other words, we are no longer our own.
Paul concluded, "Therefore glorify God in your body" (v.20). Living to reflect His glory is the return on investment that makes the Owner of our lives look good! — Joe Stowell

Redemption's price our Savior paid
When all our sins on Him were laid;
He took our guilt, He bore our shame
That we may glorify His name. —D. De Haan

Our choice to bring glory to God yields a great return on Christ's investment.

My Prayer: Lord, help me put you above all else in my life. Let the passion for you burn within me and grant me Your sufficient grace when I fail. Amen

2008-04-11T00:29:00.000+08:00

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . . For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.” Ephesians 1:3-4

Which brings us to this amazing promise in the opening verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He stuns those of us who are followers of Christ with the revelation that, before the creation of the world, we were chosen by God—just like Abraham. Just like Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. That’s very elite company!
And, just like them, our chosen status makes us recipients of His covenant promises—the forgiveness of sins, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and hope and meaning for this life and the promise of eternity in heaven for the next. Like the patriarchs, we’re given the privilege of participation in His plans. We become His messengers and ambassadors—agents of reconciliation as we share His good news. He doesn’t need us, but He willingly chooses us! He actually desires us—desires us to join Him in the advance of His cause.

"He was called to serve something larger than himself"

2008-04-05T00:43:00.003+08:00

Though he lived in England two centuries ago, the life and work of William Wilberforce remain important examples for modern-day evangelicals, according to the lead historical consultant for a feature film chronicling the famous abolitionist's life.

Kevin Belmonte, a leading scholar on Wilberforce's life and work spoke in a chapel address and a symposium Feb. 9 at Dallas Baptist University. The Wilberforce biopic, Amazing Grace, debuts in American theaters Feb. 23.

Calling Wilberforce "one of the great souls of history," Belmonte urged listeners to capitalize on his example of devoting his life to doing right -- even against great odds. As a member of Parliament, Wilberforce worked tirelessly for decades to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain.

And although slavery in the Western world has become illegal, there are still more than 27 million slaves in the world today, Belmonte said. Producers of the film have worked to raise awareness about modern-day human trafficking.

"The film creates an opportunity for us today to confront something that is very sobering," Belmonte said. "We live in a world where, sad to say, we really need to do what we can -- as Wilberforce did."

The author of Travel with William Wilberforce: The Friend of Humanity and 365 Days with Wilberforce: Daily Readings from the Writings of William Wilberforce, Belmonte is the director of the Wilberforce Papers Project, an initiative at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.

"Whenever you share the Wilberforce story, the ways in which the gospel transformed his life shine through," Belmonte said. "In the year that followed what he called his 'great change,' Wilberforce came to realize how important it was to watch and to pray. He realized he was called to serve something larger than himself."

Before that "great change," Wilberforce had lived a rather hedonistic life. Born into a wealthy merchant's family and elected to Parliament at the tender age of 21, he made wealthy and powerful friends in college -- such as William Pitt, who would later become prime minister. Although an aunt tried to steer him toward Methodism, Wilberforce was initially a religious skeptic who playfully ridiculed evangelicals, Belmonte said.

Eventually, through the patient mentoring of Isaac Milner, a professor at Cambridge University, and John Newton, an evangelical Anglican clergyman, Wilberforce made a commitment to Christ. He qualified his earlier life as "the restlessness of a heart that had yet to find its peace in God."

Newton, who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace," had been a slave trader until his conversion to Christianity during a storm at sea.

In 1785, Wilberforce resolved to commit his life to service of God and decided to leave the political scene. But Newton lobbied hard against the idea, writing that God had called the young man to politics for "such a time as this."

"To me, that underlines in bright colors the role of a pastor in someone else's life," Belmonte said, noting that if Wilberforce had not returned to politics, the slave trade might have continued in the West for many more generations.

Soon after Newton's urgings, Wilberforce "came to a profound sense that God would indeed use him in political life." The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1787, Wilberforce joined a growing group of activists campaigning against the slave trade. In May 1789, he told the House of Commons the slave trade was morally reprehensible, unjust and unnatural.

By 1791, he introduced the first parliamentary bill to abolish the slave trade, but his colleagues defeated it easily. Subsequent bills in 1792, 1793, 1795, 1796 and 1797 were defeated as well.

But, on March 25, 1807, the Slave Trade Act received royal assent.

During that time, Wilberforce wrote several books, including Appeal to the Religion, Justice and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire in Behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies and A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country Contrasted With Real Christianity.

In Appeal to the Religion, he claimed that total emancipation for slaves was a national duty before God. In Real Christianity, he presented Christian doctrine as a basis for stopping the moral decline of the nation.

"One moral imperative … stood out to him above all others: the Golden Rule," Belmonte said, adding that Wilberforce had a unique ability to "come alongside [people who were] polar opposites and to work together with them."

That talent extended beyond slavery, too. He was a founding member of the Church Mission Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He also established the African Institution to help slaves in the West Indies and developed a Sierra Leone project to take Christianity into western Africa.

Three days before he died in 1833, Wilberforce received news that the bill for the complete abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire -- the earlier law had only banned the slave trade in England itself -- had passed in its third reading in the Commons. One month later, the Slavery Abolition Act freed all slaves under British rule.

Studying the life of such a great success is "profoundly rewarding," Belmonte said. And it motivates him to live in much the same way, he added.

"It is very inspiring and encouraging to look at the life of a William Wilberforce," Belmonte said. "I always find it encouraging to know that Wilberforce didn't know how his story would end. He just remained faithful."(Source: Associated Baptist Press, www.abpnews.com)

I hope one day someone will write about me with such high regard and esteem as William Wilberforce.

Pipe Music

2008-03-13T19:18:00.000+08:00

Life after Work

2008-02-17T10:19:00.001+08:00

No longer able to go online everyday. So just checking in to announce
that- MANCHESTER UNITED 4 - ARSENAL 0 . Biggest news since Lingam.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

MOBILE BLOG

2008-02-13T18:31:00.001+08:00

Warmest greetings from my Sony Ericsson. thanks to the advancement of
technology i can now BLOG anywhere i want. signing off 1st. see u soon

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Attachment

2008-02-13T11:01:00.004+08:00

After 4 and a half months, my attachment in a law firm is finally coming to an end. It has been a fantastic experience and a rare opportunity to get hands-on knowledge and experience on legal work. I think the only thing I regret is not learning more and be more pro-active in assisting the lawyers and my employer that would have certainly expose me to a variety of other stuffs.

As for my reflections, I think my short spell here has certainly benefitted me in various disciplines including being more organized (still undoubtedly much to learn, though), slogging it out 9-6 everyday, legal skills and interpersonal skills- to name a few. Although the firm itself is not a big one, I must admit proudly that I probably learnt more as opposed to another "attachee" (as we are fondly known) in a big firm. I am exposed to a broad range of work - in fact, I would like to call myself a "lawyer" that doesn't go to court since my work does involve some expert/professional skills (not just preparing summons!). Of course I also lay my eyes on how Civil Procedure actually works in real life, after learning about it in CLP classes.

For one thing, my colleagues are definitely a great bunch of people that most would die for. I would say that office politics is minimum, if not non-existent and the LAs are very friendly and helpful. Not just that, my boss is nice and is willing to teach me much unlike some other chambees/attachees I know who virtually never get to meet their pupil-masters.

With all due respect, I wish Mr. Liow and all my colleagues farewell and extend my biggest appreciation for the most wonderful period of my life at the firm*. Love all of you.

* For confidential reasons, I have not named my firm but do contact me to know more. :)

22nd Birthday Celebration @ the office.

Peace for Kenya

2008-02-01T11:47:00.000+08:00

Not so long ago, journalists and commentaries called it the 'Political Oasis' of Africa, the only stable economy and political nation in that region of Africa. Just months off, Kenya has now become a dreadful country to live in/go to. Just a disbuckle in the Elections, a spark of unfairness, has erupted into fumes and flames that no one man - not even Nobel Peace Laureatte and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Not just so, fights between camps of President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have caused has caused nearly 1,000.00 deaths and 300,000 evicted from their own home - this is beginning to sound and look increasingly familiar with a looming ethnicity crisis reflecting that of Rwanda and Serbia.

In a world where the "advance" humans are fighting for the Energy Crisis and for Animal Rights, there is a frightful chill that travels through our spines to know that (literal) slaughter of humans are still happening, people beating people to death still appears on our screens. It is time for us, the fortunate ones, the privileged ones come to enlightenment, that there need to be done a call for the peace and the immediate stop of all barbaric violence - in Kenya or anywhere on earth.

If you heed the call- if you have any dread or hatred at all for genocide, civil war or the lot, join me on dayofsalvation.co.nr and Facebook® as I report on Kenya and take necessary actions against a better tomorrow.

If you would like to join this cause, please log on to http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/59718 or by coming back to dayofsalvation.co.nr.

Tribute to 2001_Youth 7

2008-01-18T15:20:00.000+08:00

This is my group of friends who quite simply brought me through my Secondary School days. What was originally a society where you join because "it's the rules" turned out to be a place where tears were shed, laughter were cracked and lives were shared. The reason why I pay tribute to our Group is because this is our 10th Anniversary knowing each other. Although we've left school for quite some time now (almost 5 years to be precise), we're still close and we do meet whenever we return to our beloved hometown Ipoh. We also go for trips together such as to Pangkor and Penang.

Background.

What a name for a group of BFFs. 2001_Youth7 if you ponder, really sounds like some url address or code more than a name for a group. And rightly so, it is our group name on Yahoo! Groups and I don't think we did "registered" or have an official name. 2001 is obviously the year. In fact it was our penultimate year at Malaysian Red Crescent Society Unit Youth 7 (hence the name)- that's the society where it all started. Our official activities include (but not limited to) marching, bandaging, first aid (obviously!), fundraising , camping and other crazy stuffs that a uniform club does. Unofficial activities: (dot)A lot, including "ponteng" (skipping) weekly meetings. These official and non-official activities were what built the relationship into what it is today.

Coincident or Destined?

I guess it doesn't take a bang that the universe was what it is. Neither are friendship or colliding of lives by chance. So I think we all do appreciate it a lot. I know I do and I am not afraid to admit I LOVE all of my heng dais (brothers). Thanks for the time together. As our Yahoo Group has it : Friendship Forever !

In the picture (Chinese New Year Gathering 2005):

Back Row: Wong Zan Yi, Leng Pang Huei, Leong Yuen Jee, Lim Tuck Choy, Tang Seng Hong, Tung How Run, Lee Mun Yew
Middle: Ang Kah Woh, Hor Sien Pin, Lee Chun Keat, Yap Chen Joon, Puah Chee Hung,
Front: Cheong Theng Meng, Cheong Mun Kin, Fong Wooi Joon, Wong Chun Wah

Absent with Apologies: David Leong, Ooi Goon Keat, Chan Kin Fei, Lim Kuan Yang, Foo Mun Hon, Yoong Loong Hey (They are outstation/overseas)

Back to 'School'?

2008-01-17T11:55:00.000+08:00

My last post was 'The I Heart Revolution' by Joel Houston. Make no mistake about it. It has been 7 months since I updated my beloved blog. In fact, as I was logging in, there was a slight worry that the blog may have by any chance been suspended due to inactivity (like my Maybank account after 1 year being in Australia). Well, it hasn't - and I'm back to make a "long awaited comeback".

I guess I owe an explanation to you as a "loyal fan" if indeed you are/were on the delay. But it's the new year and explanation/excuses would not convince anyone most of the times. Of course, the last half a year or so was a period of tremendous change in my life. For one, I finally graduated from Uni. I can officially declare myself as a LLB holder/a graduate/ a degree holder and what not, but I was told it doesn't mean much in this part of the world. Moving on, I've also embarked to pursue a new cert - the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) in Brickfields Asia College (I shall not put in the url here as my adopted policy of not advertising for ANY private institutions since KDU misled me into doing so for my school magazine without any remuneration). CLP is notorious for its low passing rate so you can understand my situation. More importantly, I am also currently in my first job (permanent) at a law firm. So this is the long awaited new season in my life and perhaps it has passed the transitional period that I have decided to start blogging again (hopefuly I will endure to post several more within this few months).

Fast forward to 2008, I have already worked for 5 'whooping' months already and it was an awesome experience! to say the least. I have had my fair share of the busy days, the boring days, the excursion days (meeting clients with my boss) and challenging days (mistakes,mistakes,mistakes!)- but I am not sacked yet/not fired - now that's what I called an achievement. And as a matter of tradition and as well as a "taking-stock" thing, it is good to review the past year and preview the coming 12 months.

2007

Breaking Chains and Rising Up was the theme for my 2007. To a certain extend I have broken chains and rose up - but perhaps I could have done better. Making meaningful and great new friends and exploring a new place at another part of the world seems to be the highlight for most part of the first half of the year. And jumping into working-life in the second half was a blown-away and challenging experience as well. I thank all my friends in Tassie, in Malaysia (2001_Youth7 & others), as well as my family and the most supportive and loving Yean- Love you all. Most of all, I thank the Good Lord for taking me through both the challenging, the exciting, the saddening, the happy moments of '07 -To God be the Glory.

2008

Already it had been a eventful year for a few (Chua Soi Lek and The Royal Commission, for instance). And with CLP exams in July, it will be a year to be reckoned as well. They say it's good to put down all your resolutions come the new year, I find listing them down here a little uncomfortable- but enough said- the quote below does reflect my wishes and dreams and aspirations for 2008 - Year of the Rat:

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the
affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the
betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To
leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a
redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you
have lived. This is to have succeeded.

- "What is Success?” by Bessie Anderson
Stanley in Heart Throbs Volume Two (1911) Edited by Joseph Mitchell Chapple
Happy New Year 2008 - Sincere Wishes from a Friend who Cares

The iHeart Revolution

2007-06-20T13:51:00.000+08:00

A Message from Joel Houston ...

I have a t-shirt.. it has an "I" which I'm thinking is in particular reference to the person bearing the garment.. a heart – which has accordingly become the universal symbol for love.. and an "N standing along side a Y" – which is intended to refer specifically to the city of New York as opposed to other acronymic possibilities such as "nebulous youth" or "ned's yaught"Now I just like the t-shirt.. but the truth is; i heart ny.. I really do.. it's an incredible city; the skyline.. the lights.. the landmarks.. the frenetic pace of it all with it's orchestra of sirens, car horns and life in motion.. a statue called liberty? Banana coloured taxis.. the sky lost amongst scrapers.. and in the midst of it all a jungle within a jungle pretending to be a park.. I love it.. there's intrigue and character to be found around every corner.. it's a city of a thousand personalities.. a cocktail of cultures and colours fused together to create a landscape that in many ways has become a symbol of the modern era.. but what makes new york new york.. and what I love most about the place; is the people.. they are in truth it's definition.. they are the movement, the energy, the life within the structures.. they are the landscape the sound-scape.. the history and the future.. they are ny.. and they are what I heart..see the world is a place made up of places.. and every place has a history.. and every place's history is reflected in what becomes it's culture.. and culture itself is defined through its people.. and the people; well, they are the future… and the future is now..so then - looking at it in the same light but from the other side of the room; at this moment in history, we are the people in the places.. and we are the ones defining cultures.. and we are the ones creating history.. and so the question must be asked…. If we are the future; how's it gonna look..??I don't know about you.. but if our generation is remembered for ipods, myspace, and youtube we missed it.. if history speaks of our generation as self indulgent pioneers of the digital age, reality television and purpose built celebrity we'll have failed.. the world will change by itself.. for better or for worse.. it changes daily.. but who will be the ones to shape it.. and how will it look?in and of itself revolution is neither good or bad.. revolution represents change.. a shift in culture.. History is marked by revolutions.. social and political.. some have represented victory, freedom and justice, however on the flip-side.. too many have become infamous representations of despair, oppression and injustice.. all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.. for the church – the hands and feet of Jesus and His plan for the salvation of this big, broken sphere of dirt, water and life we temporarily call home, this has never sounded with more urgency.. it's time for a revolution.. fuelled by a dissatisfaction with self-centred living and complacent faith.. driven by a desire for truth, love and justice..that's what this is all about…every generation needs a revolution.. and this one needs to look, sound, walk and breathe like love..it's not a new concept.. it's an eternal concept.. it's the reason we are alive.. it's the fundemental call of what it means to be a follower of Christ..Love God.. love people.. that's it.. that's the revolution.. revolutionary I know.. but if we understand what that means.. if we get it.. if we establish in our thinking how that looks.. and we start living it.. we will change the world.. it's not so much about the big stuff.. it's just about the stuff.. it's about the people in the places being the answer - in the places.. and together; becoming the answer to the big stuff.. it's about your backyard.. it's about my backyard..The world has watered love down to slogans and t-shirts.. lollipop pop songs and popcorn munching excursions in visual indulgence... all of which are fine.. but we throw the word around.. we confuse it's definition.. we diminish our understanding of God's command.. love is the quintessential human emotion.. it is the desire of every human being to experience, and in turn express love.. and God himself IS love.. and he desires to be loved.. and who are the carriers of His spirit..?? it's us…So that's the call.. that's the mission.. that's what this is all about..A generation expressing their worship; moreso expressing their heart for worship in the action of love.. toward God.. and toward the world we live in.. and the people who inhabit it.. it's not about highlighting the darkness.. it's about becoming the light that diminishes the darkness.. it's the gospel.. and it is now..we're all in this together..((please note: this is not called 'I heart revolution… we don't love revolution.. we're a part of a revolution fuelled by our love for God.. our love for life.. and our love for people.. it's called "the I heart revolution.."))

The Calling

2007-05-20T11:45:00.000+08:00

Dedicated to the God who is Wonderful beyond understanding. May all we do bring glory to Him and Him only.
Dedicated also to my parents, my beloved girlfriend, Yean, and all my brothers and sisters whose continuous support physically, spiritually and prayer helped me to be all the best I can be.

It seems rather strange that I am starting this entry again. I was actually halfway through 15 minutes ago but the inspiration just popped and vanished. Pooh! That is a bad feeling. Frustration etc. But if that is a problem, that is the least of any problems one has to endure. There are days when you feel like Shakespeare, other times you feel literally clueless in writing. But I must write as I am convince to share what I must: God's revelation and His faithfulness, love, grace. Another thing, giving up is no longer in my dictionary, it shouldn't be in yours.

There is a unbelievable but trully comforting verse in the bible that goes like this:
His divine power has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (Just in case you don't believe it, it's 2 Peter 1:3). Wow, absolutely fantastice and praise God! Awesome and I can't think of more superlatives to praise Him. I actually am still taking time to understand this truth. Everything is already there for our taking: to live a life according to His promises, to do miracles in His name, and to live a life of holiness for His glory. Because of that, I choose to be joyful, faithful, powerful! And indeed, though there might be weapons constantly forming against me, they shall never prevail against me in the name of Jesus! (Isaiah 54)

The verse above has a nice heading: Making One's Calling and Election Sure. At least that's the heading for an NIV bible. What is a calling? My laptop's WordWeb dictionary (by Princeton University) defines this noun as The particular occupation for which you are trained. Well, occupation?? Meaning that it's the principle work you do in your life? and you're trained to do it? How cool is that? Today I am going to ask you a simple but challenging question then. What is your calling?

Of course if I am asking you, I obviously had some thoughts on it. I think I probably started to ask this question not more than 4 or 5 years ago. When your heart is touched by God, you naturally want to give your all to Him- and you ask 'how?' .. And I started to ask God concerning my calling. I started also to look at what I have in my life that would be amounted to this "calling". I started to see 3 significant things in my life - and began to think, "is that it?"

. . .

I believe that when I seek, I shall find. So recently, I got this knowledge: Calling comes from a purpose, vision, conviction. How does this then change into a revelation- I believe that it is by action. To positively press on even when you don't feel like it; to encourage when you feel discouraged; to love; to knock; to ask; to read. And surprisingly I don't feel tired because of the revelation from Him who is above all. It is like what my pastor from ELC said, 'freshly baked bread'. The call to persevere is a call to be renewed, not to be stagnant. Praise God.

I recently read about 2 people that had great callings in their lives. (Note: this was the part that I lost inspiration on just now, hope I fare better this time around). They are Samson and Paul. Samson was the judge who would deliver his people from the Philistines. Paul's calling was to bring the Good News to the Gentiles, to the Jews, and to kings. Both callings were explicitly written in the bible. Both had experiences that were more to shameful than to be proud of. But in the end both "ran the good race" and accomplished what they were destined for. Awesome.

Do not be mistaken that you need a vision (as in the dream-sort) from God for a calling. God has spoken through His word. Making disciples and baptising them, to name a few. But if you do get that specific calling, pursue it vigorously for we are responsible for that passion. As James wrote, "Show me your faith without actions, and I will show you my faith with actions."

What is my calling? One word: ENCOURAGEMENT. Ironically, this is what Pastor Dave preached on this morning in church. God is funny but interesting.. and His timing far exceeds Perfection.

I pray, my brothers and sisters, that as you move closer to the fulfillment of your calling, you will be feeling like how I feel after completing this blog: looking back, smilling and praising your Creator.

One last thing, it is your calling but never your call. To believe is to obey :)

Remember, Remember the Lord your God

2007-05-08T14:07:00.000+08:00

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it,and gave it to them,saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

For the past 3 weeks, I've been taking the Lord's supper week after another because I visited another church. This is always argued as an coincidence of course. But I strongly felt that there is some implications this time. It was a very busy 2 weeks, with datelines and sharing and moot, to a point that my life is wholly consumed by the events surrounding me. It may be a cliche to say that sometimes we may be doing stuffs religiously but the danger is that we do those for the sake of doing it, not for the sake of pursuing His Kingdom. So, it was good to take the communion 3 weeks in a row, so that I remember in who I am and in what I'm doing, it is in the Lord Jesus.

Not that we should completely ignore things that we have and events that happens in my life. I do have a strong conviction that God uses these to glorify His name. I'm sort of drawn to Moses' staff and Joshua's sword and Peter's net. What were in their hands, God used them to do wonders... That's so amazing about those common people and common tools and common jobs. The Red Sea would part. The Jordan would stop flowing. And the people will be fished into God's kingdom. So, today I take account of what I have, and wait in eagerness, that He would use these to capture a generation. May Jesus be glorified.

Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied.
...

"...But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it"

Exodus 4:2 & 17

Energizer MEN

2007-04-22T18:38:00.000+08:00

Talk about investment! 20-22nd April of 2007 is what I call a "fulfilling" weekend for me. With AUD$25, I managed to attend my church's Men's conference. As I have always said, I'm not a boy, but a man already. There was not a single doubt that the conference would speak to me as the bible says "Seek and you will find...". The conference was in line with my life's theme this year from Hebrews 12 and being a hero.

On the first night (Friday), the speaker Gary Rucci shared about MINDSETS. What do we have in our MINDSETS? What do I have in my MINDSET that is hindering the breakthrough that we so yearn for as men (and for women as well, too!).

The second day (the whole day) was totally SERIOUS stuff. Gary continued with the breaking of mindsets? What was the triggering events that formed our thought patterns. What is it that your father had passed on to you? Is your Father in Heaven same? (Obviously not, see my previous blog on UNCONDITIONAL LOVE). In the final night, the finale I would call it, he talked about leaving a legacy. The challenge was what are we leaving beyond the grave? What do you want to be remembered by in your funeral. PROFOUND!

In fact, I've known all these things previously. But as some say, head knowledge is not half as important as heart knowledge. INTENTIONS are not as important as ACTIONS. The sharing kept me thinking about ACTIONS. I know I have been doing some actions recently but I know I could do more. What are the excuses that I've been giving for my INACTIONS. WHat should I do that would leave a legacy? To impact this generation and THE NEXT?

...

The more I think about it, the more I must write it down because I hope my blog would be an encouragement to others, as Lik Ee (how are you?) has always encouraged me to. Above that, what am I doing about my passions?

I will continue this journey with faith AND action (James), and I know His grace is sufficient for me.

Acts 10: Cornelius.

P/s: Cool to have foosball table and pool in a conference! Amazing comeback!

Easter Camp: Tribute to the Heroes and Heroins

2007-04-18T21:44:00.000+08:00

My Classmates - You guys made the right choice by coming - mid-term is still only in 4 days time.
This is Mr Camp Commandant Jason (middle, aka the Brain from "Pinky and the Brain") and Sherwin - hahaha - joker!
"The Fellowship of the Cursed" - The Dark Wizard and the sad guy.
Don't even remind me about me acting as a spastic!

Kim - The Amazing, Fabuloso Cook of the Camp!

Musings for the past 3 weeks of my Life

2007-04-18T20:45:00.000+08:00

muAt last I got my hand to seriously sit down and do a blog entry. It had been a crazy several weeks in which I did much seeing, listening, talking, and (as usual) thinking. God has ordained my steps since my last entry. Praise God!

With the amount of "receiving" (some would use the term impartation) in recent days, its really hard to determine exactly where to start. But first of all, the OCF Easter Camp was amazing! I sound so cliche but I try to "get the message across" nowadays rather than using some fanciful, alien phrases. Seeing God's presence fall and frienships grow are just two of the reasons why we spend the effort and time (3 days) in a foreign and cold place! But what I am constantly aware of and continuingly remind everyone is: bring what you got and learnt back to "reality". And just as God had taugh me about total surrendering and relying on Him, let this be a constant surrendering and not one-off. Jesus, want more of you!

Bringing me to the next thing, about surrendering and humbling, I have written on this before some time ago. Yet, head knowledge is rather different from heart knowledge (cliche again!). What dear Papa in heaven had really banged on me this few weeks, really worthed more than my 6 years as Jesus' disciple (counting back from my confirmation). Part conviction, part rebuking, but mostly breakthrough :) To cut the long story short, 1) grace and love of God cannot be earnt. 2) Growth is when you see your Lord more and see yourself less.

On a lighter note, I discovered this jazz singer named Madeleine Peyroux - really COOL! And the stacks of blog I discovered for the past week including Allison Mack ('Chloe' from Smallville) and from my beloved pal Richard- cool cool cool. All these things do give a testimony about the author's life. Occasionally, we need some inspiration - thank God for blogs and songs and heroes.

Heroes - That's what Joe King shared on in church last sunday. Have to admit it spurred me! Being called 'chicken' or the likes is not a good feeling, believe me- guys, stand up and be heroes and role models for the people around us- not because we ARE heroes, but because Jesus is our ultimate HERO! Time is to little for us to waste.

Finally, that SCARY thing called FUTURE is sorted out by the moment. Fingers crossed, and by God's grace, this ... and this ... I will do (I'm not revealing as yet). But one thing I can share- I finally got this thing clear about part of my burden and calling- YOUTHS. Leaders and heroes of tomorrow, the roaring generation- you guys are too precious for waste in alcohol, sex, and drugs. God loves you!!!

Till next time, pray for one another, OK??? ;)

Wish it were THAT easy

2007-03-17T19:26:00.000+08:00

Adelaide February 2007

2007-03-05T19:42:00.000+08:00

As you can see, I'm so dark already. But its not as if the chance to be in Adelaide during summer is something that happens all the time, so I'm glad I did manage to enjoyed myself thoroughly (besides being a 'king' in my aunt's house too).

It's been too long since I last blogged. Just didn't had the motivation to do so since I got back about a week ago. But its been busy- busy is good; forces a person not to be waking up at noon or later.. But may God's grace only bring me through.

For anyone who doesn't know who is it in the picture with me, it's not some random South Australian. She is, in fact, Merrilyn Teague- or Aunt Merrilyn as she is fondly called by so many that she had influenced. And I'm one of those who God graciously put in her path in that chapter of my life that seems so different and distant now. Indeed, meeting Aunty Merrilyn was one of those "defining moments" of my life. I had made some hard decisions since then - some I regret of, some I don't - but the point is, I have grown since then and how He brought me through still seem astonishing to me. Indeed He brings us through, and as some say carry us when we need Him most.

I wonder what the new semester brings, but I do know I could see that big figure somewhere near by. And that big figure is not big problem, but a big God that is much much bigger than those big problems.

The Author of this Blog will be on Vacation

2007-02-09T20:07:00.000+08:00

Time of rest and time of refreshing - God give me a fresh anointing and a new day!

Bonjour, Adelaide 10 to 24th February 2007

The Second Test

2007-02-03T00:23:00.000+08:00

5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

I remember once writing an essay called "The Test", which depicted the temptation of Jesus in a way that is graphical and real. It was English class and as of most centres of "circular" learning, I got a "yellow" light type of comment by classmates and teacher alike. I don't blame them but wouldn't change what I wrote if I do have a chance. After all, it was English Language class and language is the main medium in which something could be communicated, religion being the most important of them.

But that's beside the point. The second test in a series of 3 in the Devil's temptation to Jesus was quite unusual but really relevant. Here Jesus was literally ask to jump from a building. He refused, because to jump down from the apex of the temple would mean you need to be Man of Steel or God to survive. No man could leave unscratched. Jesus' Godship is again being tested. The Devil says "Prove to me that you are God!", and Jesus knows that He is. He has no mistake on His identity. But just to jump would certainly put God to test, and that's not the Father's Will for Him. So many times, we christians think that having the privileges of being called God's own and having "to do all things through His strength" gives us the ability and indeed the right to do things that would test God. Of course, that does not include giving a lot to the church (one thing that God does wants us to test Him). We think we could go 120 because we are protected by Him always. But hey, God's angels only has a speed of 110km/h! I think there are more of the big things that you could think of like going into sin etc., but the smaller things that we take for granted are a "test" to God as well. For exampla, God promises is that I may prosper in all that I do- and I take for granted that I can just have good health all the time by eating all sorts of junk. Or when I just feel that I can just get by with the exams without studying diligently. NO.That would be testing wouldn't it?

I guess this second test also gives us one very big error that most christians make: just choosing to focus on the scripture that suits us- not taking into consideration the entirity and the Bible as a whole. Well, yes, God will send His angels to catch you if you fall - the temptation; and no, He will not be catching you if you throw yourself in voluntarily - that's free will, and suicide.

My prayer today is that I be really careful in the "faith" that I profess to have when it comes to doing things "for God" and through God. Sometimes it may well be a trick that we play on ourselves because of our selfish ambitions and evil desire. Lest if I fail, I will blame God and others will see me "disglorifying" God.

Every Word that comes from the mouth of God

2007-01-29T20:57:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-27T20:23:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-25T20:50:00.000+08:00

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)

2007-01-23T14:29:00.000+08:00

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.

2007-01-19T20:44:00.000+08:00

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)

2007-01-17T19:36:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-16T19:58:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-15T20:34:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-13T09:31:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-11T21:29:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-10T19:08:00.000+08:00

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)

2007-01-09T20:29:00.000+08:00

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

2007-01-08T19:52:00.000+08:00

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.

The ABCs of Life

2006-11-25T11:46:00.000+08:00

I feel healthy!

Being at the end of the month, and poor isn't an awfully bad thing after all. For example, I get to cook more often and stay less at home, and more than that, to have more time by myself and do the things I like to do (I used to go out and give myself excuses).

And, so I cooked vege and ABC soup (which is a combination of chicken, tomato, potato and onion) and they taste great! (Just to make myself happy but you could test it the next time you meet me). But it's not just the food I take but my sleeping hours. Since the exams till few days ago, my waking hours were from 2 p.m. till 4 a.m. And this few days I have been adjusting it to 7.30 to about 12.

I guess as hard as I try to be less "holy" (as many people accused) above, it's time to share some of my insights, again. I guess what I've been trying to do was trying to put my life back in order, and also to reallign myself more to Jesus. As you might have already know, I've been encouraged by many to be more consistent in the spiritually disciplines (pause and read a few entries back if you don't). One of the things I did not mention was during Pastor Dave's sermon last week, he shared about the prophet Elijah, who arranged the altar in order before asking God to lightning-strike the ox into flames. In removing the "clogs" in our life, there is a need to identify the problem, put our lives into order, issue the solution and remove the roots etc. And this is what I am trying to do, in addition to praying more.

I have to admit my flesh is weak even though my spirit is willing and I do struggle a lot, especially when my alarm rang at 7 this morning. I actually struggled on the bed for half an hour! But I am happy still, not just because I didn't sleep back but rise at 7.30-something, but also because you would not accused me of being holy! I guess the message that I wanna get into my head and heart is that I am a hopeless sinner and I rely on His grace each day.

Wonder if I could remain consistent, hrmm.. one thing I know- His mercies are new every morning. Praise the Lord.

The 90/10 Principle (by Stephen Covey)

2006-11-23T15:43:00.000+08:00

10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean?
We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be arriving late, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.
How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light, but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example.
You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just what happened. What happens when the next will be determined by how you react.You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.
She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work.

You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute delay and throwing Rs. 200/- traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.

Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?

The answer is "D".

You had no control over what happened with the coffee.
How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened.
Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need, to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.
Why? Because of how you REACTED.

You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.
If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don't have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off)
Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive?

Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger.
Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse. Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it.
The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle.
The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache.
We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle.

Dreams

2006-11-22T21:25:00.000+08:00

Dreams. Not their biggest fan but I do it anyway once in a while. Usually they are not my daytime thoughts, but rather- they are quite random. There was once I dreamnt meeting this friend of mine, whom I've not met or thought of for a long time. Another time I dreamnt of fighting with the devil himself (sounds scary but it's true). But dream do play a big part of most of our life- that's my point. Most of us do dream, but not in our sleep, we dream that we will be able to do something. Not just a normal something, but SOMETHING BIG... and I believe, rightly so we are created for these something big!

Yet, sadly, many, many people never get to achieve their dreams. These wonderful, beautiful dreams just slipped away... Sometimes it's because we just take them for granted- thinking that there's always tomorrow, other times there's just so many thing getting in our way that we eventually give up. I certainly refuse to be in category (1) or category (2). I'm always telling myself I'm here for something BIG man! Yet many times I fail to keep on with my dream, sometimes I lose focus of my God.

However, this will not be the end, I know. These few days have been a total banging of that amazing grace and power of my Lord in me- First, through the song "The Time has Come" really spoke to me (which you will know why when you see the lyrics below). Secondly, through an inspiring flash from Amy Krouse Rosenthal (you really must have a look at this!) on dreams.
Thirdly, through the scripture, I observe the urgency and the importance and priority that God has caused His people to have in the rebuidling of the temple in the book of Ezra. All these and more keeps coming back, giving me enough evidence to believe that it is really NOW or NEVER to stand up for my God. NOW or NEVER to be passionate about my Jesus (Yes, mine, as many people has told me).

If Adidas can say "Impossible is nothing", then God people should say "We can do all things... through Him who strengthen us". AMEN.

Oh, and as promise, the link for the Amy Rosenthal flash: here and the Hillsong United song lyrics:

The Time Has Come
Found love beyond all reason
You gave Your life Your all for me
And called me Yours forever
Caught in the mercy fallout
I found hope found life
Found all I need
You're all I need

The time has come
To stand for all we believe in
So I for one am gonna
Give my praise to You

Today today it's all or nothing
All they way
The praise goes out to You
Yeah all the praise goes out to You
Today today I live for one thing
To give You praise
In everything I do
Yeah all the praise goes out to You

All we are is Yours
And all we're living for
Is all You are
Is all that You are Lord

Predestined

2006-11-20T18:22:00.000+08:00

One of the entries in the blog was entitled "Our Destinies to be Heroes" . In that entry, I expressed my view on discovering our destinies. Indeed our Father above, has in each of us, poured out what is necessary to bring out the best in us for making a difference. But more importantly, as I found out as I revisit Paul's letter to the Ephesians, He has poured out "every spiritual blessing in Christ". God has so abundantly and "over-the-boundarily" blessed us (the word here should be "lavish"), He blessed us physically as well as spiritually. This means that He has plans not just our present life, but plans for our life to come. He has predestined us to be sons and daughters of His. He has predestined us to be redeemed from our sins and transgressions. And (as if) almost to our surprise, He has predestined us to be unified and glorified with Christ.

It is a wonder how the Creator has not just created us and kept us, but saved us and actively seeks to have fellowship with us. And this He had done, of course, through our One and Only Saviour and Lord Christ Jesus. Thank You for Your love, my dear Jesus.

And there is more, Paul as he explains in his letter, tells us that he himself not just preach, but pratices what he preaches. He prays for the young disciples in Ephesus- that they might have the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, and that the eyes of ther hearts might be enlightened, in order that they may "know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparabily great power for us who believe". Rich indeed! How rich indeed we are in Christ Jesus! Of course sometimes, through our "blurness" or "blindness" we don't see this "glorious hope" that Paul talks about. Only through continuous seeking and studying and worshipping. (Leading me back to my previous entry.

And before I leave you pondering, the precise meaning of 'predestined' is "
Established or prearranged unalterably."

Happy discovering His spiritual blessings!

Somethings that people have recommended

2006-11-19T23:40:00.000+08:00

Read 'The Message' Bible (by Eugene Peterson). Quite radical but contemporary and relevant
Highlight the Bible as I read
Find the verse "16 Confess your trespasses^[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (It's in James 5:16!)
Implement item 3.
Do Item 1,2 & 4 everyday!
Grow in God and fit into His Will and plan.

Regarding Prayer and Bible Reading

2006-11-19T23:00:00.000+08:00

I know, I know. Sorry for the slow updating. Even though I have not updated my blog for 42 days (exactly 6 weeks, that is), I should be forgiven- after all it was exam period, right?

No. It's just me being lazy and giving a zillion reasons to log on to blogger.com. It's been that season in my life where I have been extremely slack-ish and taking things for granted. But the good news is I'm up and about, and I'm blogging again, yay (I'm taking the cheesy approach of things).

So as usual, some updates on my spiritual life- actually nothing much, I have to admit, till about a week or so ago. To cut the long story short (and to save some embarassments) God has been lavishly pouring His grace to send people again and again to encourage me to take up the spiritual disciplines seriously. And rightly so, it's just not my "nature" that I'm disciplined reader, more so not a frequent-prayer (No "frequent-flyer" points, hah). But of course, these are just habits that everyone can possess if they are serious in their walk with Christ. Not that I'm not serious, but most of the time, the "flesh is weak".

Undoubtedly, God is faithful to send His faithful servants to come encourage me, nag me, woo me to pray hard, to study the BOOK hard. I remember several months back I also mentioned the alleged lack of motivation that I am suffering, and I do think God does try His best to remind me constantly- but I need to remind myself everyday, that He has a new thing in my life everyday, a new revelation everyday, a new blessing everyday, new mercies every morning.
As I heard from Ps Dave's sermon this morning, God's blessing is like a flowing river, continuously flowing, constantly transforming (you see, God does speak precisely to me).

For the day that is ahead of me, that is ahead of you- I don't know what it will bring, but indeed His love is abundantly available and He will not give up, He will not stand back, He will, as the Hillsong praise goes "Come to our rescue". Not to say that we should be taking for granted His grace and mercy, but God teaches like a patient father.

So it goes that in my struggle to discipline myself in "feasting" spiritually (reading the Word) and breathing spiritually (prayer), I ask that you would pray for me that, indeed, as Paul wrote, that God would give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation- that I may know Him more. Thanks again for His servants Jono and Melissa, and George whom I just met but still proved so encouraging. All your concerns touches me...

(Alright back to prayer and reading!)

Our Destinies to be Heroes

2006-10-09T21:55:00.000+08:00

There is a new craze around the TV world. It's called the Heroes fever. The special abilities the characters possess combined with a hidden theme of mysterious scientific flavour always do the job when it comes to television ratings. I must admit I too am looking forward to the next episode.

The centre of the whole story revolves around several people around the world (well most of them from America actually) who possess 'super' powers. At precisely the same period of time, all of them start to discover their powers, which includes teleporting & reversing time (time/space), indestructible body and mind reading. As the series develop, these individuals have to discover how their powers came about, escape from the bad guys and somehow finding out their destiny as "heroes".

This blog is not about heroes, it's about destiny. Reading my first few entries in this blog (which dates back March 2005), I start to think and realize how far I've been since then. It was indeed a heck of a journey from that guy I was to the guy I am today. The entries of this blog in the future, too, will bear significance, in terms of how far I will/would go, and if God permits, how the picture could be painted completely.

The truth is, just like young Clark Kent had to discover that he can fly (eg in Smallville) and ends up the red caped super hero, we have to discover our abilities, passions and purposes, then see where it all fit in that picture- that is our most noble obligation as human beings. Living a purposeful life (do I sound too Warren-ish) and living a legacy, how would you achieve that.

I came to the conclusion that without fulfilling our purposes and destiny, we live to die. This is on the assumption that we know that all that we gather- family, friends, wealth, we can't take them to the grave. If so, possibly the only thing we would leave behind and continue to be ours is none other than our legacy. What do we want to be known for?

In the quest for such legacy, we could take a step back to before we move on. While we are alive, what should we be doing, and how we know all these have consequences- whether long term or short? I like to think that whatever happened in the past, there's no point looking back and sigh. But rather, I would like to think of it as part of my destiny that I am travelling, that holding on to the promises of God- He has plans to prosper me and He sees the beginning from the end. Knowing and understanding more on this recently, I begin to believe all that I've gone through and all that I do would somehow transform me into sort of a hero- I'm discovering I can be "Superman"; I'm discovering my destiny of doing something that will make an impact.

I am discovering my destiny- the ultimate destiny to be glorified with Christ Jesus. I am discovering my purpose- me as a piece of puzzle that somehow fit into GOd's wonderful, marvelous, perfect will & plan. You may ask: what specifically is that? Unfortunately, I can't tell you for certain, but it ain't going to be just another normal life to lead. This is not just a challenge from God to me; it's a prophecy that seem awkward at this time. But "faith is believing what you can't see" right? May God protect my heart, my life.

But, just today God provided me with just a hint on that destiny. Call me a dreamer, impulsive -anything you want, but I strongly believe that this is not just an assessment- it's a glance at the future! Here goes:

Nicholas, this was an excellent presentation and you gave a great example of your own interest and enthusiasm for your topic. You spoke well and engaged in a very natural way with the class...

- Jurisprudence presentation assessment by Dr Julia Davis on the topic Justice in the Bible (5th October 2006)

This was just a very short comment and might not make a big difference in anything or anyone at all. But to me, it did. I want to realize that the most important thing is not to be rich, powerful or beautiful, but to be able to live my life according to God's perfect will. "For when I am weak, then I am strong" 2Corinthians 12:10

Why Sinners Share the Gospel

2006-09-19T20:09:00.000+08:00

Sabotaging a witness
by John Fischer from Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotion

A lot of Christians stay relatively quiet about their faith when in the company of those who don’t know Christ. There are probably lots of reasons for this, but the one I hear most frequently is the feeling of not being good enough. “Who am I to tell someone about Jesus,” the rationale goes, “when my own life is in such a mess?”

There is an improper assumption that goes along with this kind of thinking, that in order to witness for Christ you have to have a close to impeccable life. There’s a certain standard one has to live up to before being in a position to tell someone about Jesus. Otherwise, people will point the finger at you and spot your own inconsistencies.

The absurdity in this kind of thinking is the fact that no one, not even Christians, will ever have it all together in this life. Instead of being an excuse not to witness, the fact that we aren’t good enough should be the whole point. We tell people about Jesus because we know, better than anyone, how much we need him. When people throw our own inconsistencies up in our faces that is just another opportunity to tell our own story of how Christ has forgiven us on the cross and how much we need his salvation every day. So instead of being a threat to our witness, our faults and shortcomings are the very things upon which our witness hangs. If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need Jesus.

When I think of the essence of our statement as Christians to those who don’t know Christ, I always think of the blind man that Jesus healed by covering his eyes with mud and telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. (John 9:1-34) When the Jewish religious leaders got wind of it, they started to question the man extensively – wanting to know who healed him, how it happened, where the man who healed him was now, and even asking his parents to verify whether their son was in fact born blind. When they came back to the man and pressed him with questions a second time, accusing Jesus of being a sinner for doing work on the Sabbath, the man replied, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner … But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25 NLT)

There’s our message: “I was blind, and now I can see; I was lost, and now I am found; I was guilty, and now I’m forgiven; I was alone, and now I have a friend.” It doesn’t take a perfect life to spread that message – just a saved one. So what’s keeping you from telling your story?

My response:
Many, many times I have missed the chance to share Jesus with people because of this.Yes, fear is one of the reason, but the feeling of inadequacy is definitely at the top. I am a sinner. I admit that I still sin andhave much to learn in my walk with Him. But at least now I know I could share despite all the shortcomings and "embarassment" I've committed in the midst of my friends. Thank you Jesus once again for saving my day!

The Blog updated! (dayofsalvation.co.nr)

2006-09-19T18:43:00.000+08:00

As you have already notice, notweak.blog has gone "a step further" with a new look and feel (thanks to the new Blogger Beta). Also, the 'underlying ' message has also changed. The 'Day of Salvation' is my renewed passion to see God doing wonders through my blog, in my life, and in my community! With HOPE comes motivation, with motivation comes BREAKTHROUGH, with BREAKTHROUGH comes the fulfillment of GOD's WILL. Most importantly, whatever message that dayofsalvation .blog could bring, the most important is the message of SALVATION through our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus. To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

Oh yes, from now on, the new address for this blog/website will be dayofsalvation.co.nr . notweak.blog will still be available until further notice.

God bless you.

Motivation from Above

2006-09-14T19:45:00.000+08:00

I remember my new year's resolution last year and I still keep it. It seems inappropriate to state everything I put down but one of the more "matured" goal was to bring 2 lives to Christ. And I did. I also have a joke for myself (arguably, it's not) that if I put down 200 or 2000, I was going to do it too. So it goes that resolution, goals, objective does account to something. It's not that it's a prophecy thing or what but I think it's got to do with the mind being subconciously aware and "motivated".

Which brings me to MOTIVATION. It's cold here in Hobart and it's foreign. I admit at times, especially recently, the 'fog' of being in a new environment, a new lifestyle, new friends could bring many to a sudden but (I insist) temporal state of lostness and indecisiveness. Sometimes I wonder what I will be in 10 years time or even in a year's time. Will the path I took be a downfall for me. Albeit the fact that I have been through some past stages of my life having this thought and has always been resolved (thank God), I again come to this point where I ponder upon the same. Socrates (or was it Aristotle) once said- "A life without purpose is not worth living"; I thus ask myself- what is the purpose where I am, what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. The answer must be MOTIVATION... I admit my weaknesses and my apparent lack of faith but I'm not going to pretend this is easy and this is nothing. It is something- the fact that "everything's gonna be alright" doesnt mean that I have no right to feel the way i feel- the way I think.

On mentioning rights, I should mention that anyone who criticize me and talks behind my back on what I do or have reservations in this respect have their rights to do so, too. But though most of us willnot change deep in us, I am changing to think less of what people think of me. In the past I might have been- and to a certain extend still, but I'm not here to please everyone. Your criticism I willingly and happily accept- if you let me know- and I will change to "A Better Man".

Just a thought.

Shalom
p/s: God was awake on the 11th of September 2001.

We Wanna See Jesus Lifted High

2006-08-27T13:27:00.000+08:00

"I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory."
[Isaiah 66:18 NLT]

Energizer Conference

september 13 to 15 | 2006 | derwent entertainment centre |

Loved

2006-08-14T20:31:00.000+08:00

"I Love You" is what God wants to get across to me ever since I got over here (in Hobart). If I say my life here is all smooth and no bumps, I must be pretending. The truth is for most if not all people, studying in a new environment far from home is not a bed of roses- even if it is, there are full of thorns.

So what had happened ever since I got here? Well pretty much as expected- beautiful place, new environment, OCF (overseas Christian Fellowship) and church. It's a short time but I would deal with the descriptions of Hobart another time. I want to get to my point- the place you are in, the good church, group, Uni you join, do not define how healthy you are spiritually. Only the love of God and continuous seeking of Him does. I nearly fell into the trap of focussing too much on the activities and the indulgence of "enjoying the new life" here that I missed out on God. I have to learn it the hard way that being to church or CF, or even reading the bible as a routine would be good enough in my walk with Christ. Till I did it and felt the emptiness that I discovered it is really living in His presence and accepting His love can satisfy. What was clearly refreshing was really when I paused a moment and wonder: I am loved because I am me! Not for the things I do, place I go, my frequency to church or my IQ.

Not to say that church and being together with believers are not important- which is precisely how God showed His faithfulness leading me to a suitable church (Energizer Life Church) and OCF. The OCF people are lovely people.

On top of that are the people that love me soooooooo.... much. Thanks mum, thanks Dad, thanks my lovely girlfriend Yean -you guys rock! Thanks also for your letters and cards- you're like messengers from God when you wrote: KEEP THE FAITH & KNOW WE ALL LOVE YOU FOR YOU!

I miss HOME alot!

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eith day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law,a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

-the Apostle Paul to the believers in Philippi (3:4-8)

The loved one,
Nic on 14th August 2006

D-Day -1

2006-06-30T12:41:00.000+08:00

At last and finally. I feel the pressure, or some call it anxiety. I finally coe face to face with the fact that I'll be leaving for Australia. I finally realise that I'll be missing my loved ones, friends, brothers, sisters, and anyone and everyone back here in Malaysia. You could say it's inevitable, and it should be earlier. But I only just had the feeling. Maybe couple of hours ago. Life's too good over here.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't want to go, but just dreading the feeling of leaving. I'd like to experience a different kind of life. I even had a nightmare yesterday that I couldn't go. It's terrible not to board the place en route to Melbourne but the nicest of friends and family here are too lovely to leave. And who needs more blessings when they're around.

For example, Likee and Eujin, whom I had breakfast with this morning. Wonderful friends to have. Not to mention the rest of the people associated and cared for me. And the greatest thing is I get God's blessing and grace as well. I felt very touched when Lik ee prayed for me just now, and the church and CG members too. Thanks, guys.

All but ready. So much for Superman Returns, ordinary man here will be leaving :) The good news is: through the prayers, I know at least one God will be going with me.

Drop me your address, I'll send you a postcard. Chiaoz.

(D-Day is not Doom's day- it's Departure day ;)

He puts a new song in my mouth

2006-05-27T03:00:00.000+08:00

Psalm 40
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods. [a]

5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced [b] , [c] ;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.

7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll. [d]

8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.

14 May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.

15 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"
be appalled at their own shame.

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

17 Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

Recently the song "I will Run to You" by Hillsongs Australia seems to be crossing my ears' path quite frequently. So I downloaded, erm, obtained the song through Limewire-sharing, and have been listening to it many times since. What strike me most is this: there seems to be something about me that gives me this song. Now admitting that I am still learning and growing, I must say sometimes I'm not God-centred and at these times, I seem to think that this song is plain; other times however, this song IS so inspiring and ministering to me. I guess the Psalmist is right, God does put a NEW SONG within us. I guess that's the difference between great songs and great Christian songs- the difference is the listener.

The Beautiful Game

2006-04-28T01:32:00.002+08:00

I'm talking about football (SOCCER) of course. If you've been totally blur, FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany will be held in June this year, Arsenal & Barcelona are in the UEFA Champions' League Final and I support Manchester United, which happens to be the world's most well supported club. But there's one or two things we could learn from football, which I was pondering upon this few days as the Barcelona-Milan match was on yesterday morning (OK, ya, I slept at 5 a.m. yesterday, but you could only envy a person who's on vacation).

First of all, football (as also in life) does not escape God's will. I don't know how this would make sense at all but God's will seems to be such that, though you're the better side, you sometimes lose. Look at Villareal v Arsenal. Look at how many chances the 'yellow subs' (Villareal) had. The penalty. The free kicks. The chances... It is within God's will that some players suffer defeat though they play the best; while others win though they're not as good as the earlier bunch of 'lads'. Kinda like life, ain't it, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose- no matter how 'good' or how 'on-guard' you are. God's will is above all. The good news is God's will always is acted in the "Love-Holy" symphony, and we'll all rejoice where we're heading to regardless of our circumstances now.

Secondly, no matter what position we are in (Goalkeeper, defender, striker etc.) we all play crucial roles in the 'Team of Christ'. If you watch more football than just World Cup, Scoring is just one thing about football, there's also the other thing called keeping the opponent from scoring, feeding the striker, and so on so forth. But well, you guess it, that is true also for the Christ's body (for example, what Paul wrote). May I go as far as saying that the coaches, manager, and kit manager (as in the person who organises the jerseys) also play important roles...

Anyways, back to the Barca-Milan match, some pretty impressive display of football were played by both sides and the commentator was excellent (he even criticized the commentator in front of him for being too judgmental). The best teams in Europe (rpobably the world too). The best commentator ever, in my opinion. In Christ, let us also strive to be the best, and in Christ, one thing is for sure, we're always Barcelona (for that match, I mean) --- we're in The Winning Team.

To the best of us, Joga Bonito (Play beautiful) :)

AMEN.

Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father

2006-04-28T00:35:00.000+08:00

This is my overdue entry.

But the message is always applicable anytime - God is Good.

Well, I guess we're all forgetful people but He reminds us constantly of His goodness.

Especially during the storms...

Seriously, the rough parts of my life cannot be described as storms as it would be injustice to those whose suffered much more than me, though I believe that God give each their own measurement of storm to mould His children.

Well, the above were just some random thoughts anyway. But this entry is a thanksgiving. Thanksgiving that God has once again parted the Red Sea of Exams and I've once again passed. Praise God. Someone said, behing every successful exam, there's a story (I think I created that but it's true for me anyway). My story today is how I passed my Equity & Trust paper.

Don't get the wrong picture. Equity and Trust is not difficult. It just has a zillion case and a zillion brain cells to die for. Owing to my lack of effort throughout the semester, I revised it during the last week before the exam. And that week was the KDU CF Easter Week (which I will come to later). And so came April 12th 2006. The day I might have to live in infamy. I had not sleep the previous night and I really thought I smelled burnt fried brain cells that morning as I travelled to the battlefield. Somehow as I open the notes for "last-last-last-minute" revision I managed to forget all the cases (they can't seem to register, get the picture?)... and as anyone would, I panicked.

I studied awhile and suddenly this thought came to me. i think it's probably some testimonial about some other students who experienced similar situations, or it's God speakin' into my heart. The thought was to stop the memorisation and start praying 15 minutes before I go into the exam hall. I had half an hour before the exam to get some cases to try preventing a flunk. So I was experiencing what Henry Blackaby would call a "crisis of belief". And well, I stopped and prayed. The prayer was something about parting the red sea. After that, the rest was really, HIStory.
...
...
(I passed and did quite well)
Now I'm heading to the desert/ or more optimistically, promised land :p
...

Now I back tracked a little to 3 (THREE) days before my exam when te KDU CF Easter (cum talent time) took place. It was a blast for most people and many came. But what I would really thank God for the CDPC worship team and my CG (Koinonia) for the many helping hands, without which it would not have been what it had been- spectacular. But of course, Jesus made it meaningful... And much more so, He was there with us, because though there were controversies about some of the performances (the talent time were open to non-christians too), the worship and the preaching must have planted seeds into the hearts of some, if not all. This was my earnest prayer, and I know God answers prayer.

Thanksgiving aside, I must admit I am still weak, I sometimes fall, and I need grace. And God is merciful in His act of drawing me close to Him. To God be the Glory.

So God is really good, faithful, merciful. My life would be meaningless without Him, as well as this blog (in case some are still wondering why notweak.blogspot.com) always has God.

I conclude with

Yet there is one ray of hope: His compassion never ends.
It is only the Lord's mercies that have kept us from complete destruction.
Great is His faithfulness; His lovingkindness begins afresh each day.

Lamentations 3:21-23 TLB

Happy 1st Anniversay to Not.Weak.blog

2006-03-30T01:08:00.000+08:00

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank You God for bringing this blog to its 1st Anniversary

Thank You Gor for being faithful in watching over this blog from hackers

Thank You for bringing it through my thin and thick.

Thank You for reminding the blogger that he is not weak with You

Thank You for love that abounds, for love that spur this blogger to continue to live and love, and to blog.

Thank You for the people mentioned in this blog that had influence Your child in so many ways,

Thank You for the events mentioned in this blog that occured that built your child blog by blog.

Thank You for all and all...
and for being the God of this blog and its blogger.

With blogs of love to a Saviour,
Just me =)

He is Faithful

2006-01-02T00:46:00.000+08:00

"The greatest thing about this is you can go back as far as you want into the ages past and still find God there, thinking about you. "Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes" (Ephesians 1:4). (By the way, we are so thankful it says without fault "in His eyes," because we have plenty of faults in other people’s eyes, including our own.) The point being, you can never go too far back to not have anyone to worship. ("In the beginning, God…")"

...by John Fischer, from the "Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional"

Thanks Mr Fischer for continuously writing down God-given wisdom, I promise to read the devotionals more regularly this year (one of my "resolutions") ... and praise for Him who provided me and blessed me with the people, and life, that I've come to love and cherish. Thank You, Jesus, really.

And thanks for God's word: This is for my 2006 :-

"Our fears for today, our worries for tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away" (Romans 8:38).

Just a thought

2005-10-24T23:51:00.000+08:00

Living on Earth is expensive,
but it does include a free trip
around the sun every year.

How long a minute is
depends on what side of the
bathroom door you're on.

Birthdays are good for you;
the more you have,
the longer you live.

Happiness comes through doors you
didn't even know you left open

Ever notice that the people who are late
are often much jollier
than the people who have to wait for them?

If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day,
how come nothing is free yet?

You may be only one person in the world,
but you may also be the world to one person.

We could learn a lot from crayons:
some are sharp, some are pretty,
some are dull, some have weird names,
and all are different colors....but
they all exist very nicely in the same box.

Working for God on earth does not pay much,

but His Retirement plan is out of this world!!!!!!!!!!

Copyright Reserved. The above is taken from another blog. ;) Sorry about the entries that are few and far between nowadays.

Apologies

2005-10-11T23:48:00.000+08:00

Just a short entry this time around (I can sense your relieve). Just wanted to clarify that if you see any other comments ever deleted from the blog, it's not a negative comment from the readers but some advertisements trying to cheat your (yes, you!) money. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Have a jolly good day! Thanks for all your support!

Fellow Travellers (by John Fischer)

2005-10-11T23:30:00.000+08:00

Just Good Company
by John Fischer

Someone just signed a message to me, “God bless you, dear fellow traveler,” and something about that felt good. Of course the blessing part feels good; I never turn down a blessing from anyone. Our dry cleaning man is a dear Korean believer who never ceases to bless my family and me every time I see him. It's getting to where I go for the blessing now, heck with the dry cleaning! But I especially like the “dear fellow traveler” part.

As believers in Christ and members of the family of God we are, indeed, travelers on a trip with a destination. We are not insignificant results of evolved DNA wandering around the cosmos with no end but a forgotten grave. We are sacred stories in the mind of a Creator-God on a journey to our eternal home with Him, and He is using our lives, along the way, to make a statement.

And because this journey has a destination, all points of it have meaning. We are not just marking time here. We are building towards something solid. The steps are a necessary part of our growth. If we didn't need this, we wouldn't be here. God would have taken us home long ago. But our work here is not finished, and not only our work, but also the work of life's experiences upon us, is still being done. God is using everything in our lives to mold us into who He wants us to be for Him in eternity. We are fellow travelers with a destination and the destination brings purpose and hope to the here and now. You can endure just about anything along the way, if you know, ahead of time, that the outcome of your journey is secure.

But we are also “fellow travelers.” In other words, we are going where we are going together. That's a big part of the deal. You don't go it alone on this road to eternity. We have not only a cloud of witnesses who have gone before us and are now cheering us on (Hebrews 12:1), we have a fellowship of those around us who are in the middle of the same journey. We have each other for companionship, comfort, strength, accountability, and encouragement. And when we fall, there is always someone there to pick us up.

Isn't it good to have company?

Where does my heart lie?

2005-10-09T01:23:00.000+08:00

Does going to somewhere else really give you that "needed rest" that people have been telling you about? If anyone should answer that question, it shouldn't be me. But I will attempt to answer that question since I am back at home, far from the fuzz and buzz of the city, well, sort of. There's always this lazy, draggy, nostalgic feeling back here in Ipoh. It's like suddenly your life just went from normal speed to low speed- to a near stand still. Maybe it's something to do with the rest of the people back here. Or maybe it's just me. Ipoh is Ipoh; it will never be Ipoh city, or Ipoh Metropolis, or Ipoh Megacity... yet all these kind of put that "pressure" on me to think over life- or some would call it "Reflect".

And if you ask me what's the results of my reflection, it's whole bunch of rubbish jumbled up with some useful lesson (I think). First of all, most of my buddies are gone- all over the country and the world-no more football in early mornings, not even 2-on-2s. Next, cherish people. People come and go, so how would we know if we were supposed to make an impact in their life for the better-but ommitted to do so? Thirdly, despite my age, I still love playing computer games, but I guess age is just a number, right? Last but also the most importantly, homecoming is far from taking a rest. Occasionally, some things or others would just pop up in your mind. You see, even if you're far from the "scene" physically, your mind and heart might be still there. One thing I say to myself: release, friend...

If I only get a chance, I would really want to show how much I appreciate everyone who had been in my life, whether they played a big or small role. But sometimes I don't have the guts, other time, I'm just being the old unappreciative self. But I do love you guys and cherish you guys and thank you guys for the time that no money can buy.... IGNORE THIS PART IF YOU THINK I'M DRUNK AND/OR EMOTIONAL.

I want to show you my all --- Nicholas Hor Sien Pin.

Your Grace is sufficient for me...

2005-10-03T23:54:00.000+08:00

But He said to me,"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. Corinthians 12:9

Jesus told Paul 3 times the above statement. Admidst of much suffering that God's people endure, He says that His grace is sufficient for us. The weaknesses seen we see in ourselves ought to be the pointer toward His strength. Even more, we are to "boast" of our weaknesses. Guess theverse sums it all out. Yet, what is this GRACE that could be so sufficient and so great that Paul would mention it over and over again througout all his letters? What had made him so convinced and obligated to talk about this GRACE?

AND what is GRACE to you? Is it what is known as "the gift we do not deserve"? Or would you describe it as the movements of that pretty balerina? The eagle maybe?

Throughout the month of October, not.Weak.blog will be opening a discussion on "GRACE". Leave a 'Comment' at the end of this box on what is grace and how has it impacted your life, if at all. After all, at the end of our journey of knowing Jesus this side of heaven, we'd probably be sent of with a solemn (should not be) song of Amazing GRACE.

Happy Mooncake Festival (Light up your lanterns!)

2005-09-15T22:35:00.000+08:00

Mooncake (or mid-autumn) festival is approaching. Back here, where the moon is brighter than ever (and I'm sure this is a fact all around the world. To be honest, I've not really been celebrating this festival for some time. Until this year. This year I get to attend two such 'celebration' in an attempt to re-live the childhood lantern-playing days. Though the gatherings has lanterns and candles, it hardly seem to be the traditional mooncake celebration gathering. Perhaps I'm now much taller and much older since the last time I handled a lantern, and there's no more children-playing-adults-chatting scene. But just a bunch of youths of same height making a hoo-hah around the neighbourhood. But hey... why not? Ok Ok, it's a culture incorporated into the gathering of God's people, but it's cool... It is of such importance to him when the Apostle of the Lord said 'To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law... I have became all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessing. Sometimes to reach out to the group you're in, you gotto know them and their culture as well. Such as having a mooncake festival gathering, or have some 'happening' dance party or other events. If you're a christian student, be a christian student, and not only a christian; of course not only a student as well. Remember, we are calle to be IN THE WORLD, thoough we are not OF THE WORLD. Obviously, we must always be mindful not to sin when we are in this world, but as long as it's not sin, what's wrong with organizing a dance party (NO drugs, NO alcohol, NO cigarettes) to reach out to the 'blind' youths?

Indeed one thing Paul said in his First Letter to the Corinthians is truly true - 'I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Jesus is Lord

2005-09-07T23:22:00.000+08:00

We often see the phrase in the back screens of cars; we often hear pastors preach on it; obviously we have sang countless time about it. But in our hearts, is Jesus REALLY Lord.

No doubt. Jesus is Lord. There is nothing more true than that. And perhaps many of us had grown up being showered upon this truth. But are we convicted of this truth? Putting it another way, we have the head knowledge, but do we trust Him as Lord enough to do whatever He says, and proclaim without a doubt to the person of the next: JESUS IS LORD.

I guess it is true that each of us has different ways of worshipping and giving glory to Him. But if we (yes, including me) cannot even say out publicly (meaning with a randomly picked group of people, and not just christians) that Jesus is Lord, it appears more like silently denying Christ. I admire people who can just by the first meeting with strangers tell them about Christ but is it not also my obligation to tell people about Jesus?

For me, it is more to convenience sake and shyness more than anything that I seldom declare the Lordship of Christ. Yet, having said that, I choose now to step out of my comfort zone, and declare to all: Jesus Christ is Lord. May the Lord's Spirit be teaching me to bear His cross and never deny Him.

Happy Merdeka 0831

2005-08-31T23:09:00.000+08:00

It is always a thrill to start a new semester. The lazy dazy vacation says goodbye, and it's college mates, classmates and lecturers time. For me, it is muchof a transition, especially the part where I will spend half of my day (or more sometimes) in college - meeting people, attending classes, meeting people. It is almost mundane. After some time, it becomes natural, dry. But at first, it's a disguised beast that will silently draw me out of focus with Him. Just too many people to see, not that seeing people is bad, but sometimes just thinking about the people I just meet or what I say to them takes up valuable time from spending time with God. Worst of all, it is the fact that when you meet friends, brothers and sisters, there is this evil tendency that my mind subsconciously thinks that companionship with God is no longer required.

I like hanging out with friends. Laughing, playing, chatting... who doesn't anyway? But sometimes, when I'm just sitting there amidst them, I tend to keep quiet,draw back- there is this sense of lossness, like I'm drowning in a host of conversations. And it got me thinking, is it really empty and meaningless, I mean all those laugheters and talking, just a way of the evil one to help us waste time instead of doing something for God? Don't get me wrong, it is completely Ok to have fellowship with friends, sometimes there is this line to be drawn, the line between knowing what we are talking or just empty 'crap'. Anyway, it's just a thought but come to think of it, sometimes when I'm hanging around with people, it keeps me 'addicted' and God would seem so far to me, though He's near. Well, better get back to my knees and work the relationship.

Much said, on another more solemn note, I send my condolences to uncle Richard's (my dad's cousin) family. To lose a loving father and husband is never easy thing, especially when he's young (early 50s) and sudden. All in all, he's a very nice man, and I'm sure he's in heaven rejoicing now...

0417

2005-08-28T04:17:00.000+08:00

It's 4:17 am in the morning of 28th August 2005 - I can't sleep. A normal person will ask me to get some food, or milk; a christian will ask me to pray for peace; I ask myself to blog. The truth is I had late dinner and ALSO supper. I prayed for peace and I have it. The reason I can't sleep is that I've been catching up with the thinking. Being sick for five days (!) was a bit of a drag for me - physically, mentally, and spiritualy. All that a patient such as me do is sleep, wake up, eat 1/3 of my ordinary meal and sleep. The waking hours are spent wondering when I'll get well. The sleeping hours spent on who knows what...

And so the story goes on my thinking, thinking about what to expect in year 3, what to expect in Committee Meeting, how to spend more time with God etc. I seriously have no 1 perfect solution but at least now I'm feeling ready to get back to bed.

~z z z

Quote of the month

2005-08-22T23:01:00.000+08:00

“Education by itself is dangerous."

-Tun Dr Mahathir, reported in thestar.com.my on Monday, August 22, 2005.

Love, for the day is near...

2005-08-15T23:15:00.000+08:00

Many apologies for the long pause. I notice I hadn't been blogging for quite some time. Yet, much has happened since my last real blog (that excludes the poem). I guess I just couldn't put them all in words. To cut the story short, I got a job (helping my friend), lost the office keys (yes, again!) and went back to Ipoh for a visit with my cell group mates.

Clearly, the events in my life implies an interesting life that I have. But often, it is not the events that makes life, but the people in it. Regarding that, God has been bringing me through a lesson of dealing with people. I thank God everyday for the people around me. My gracious boss (John Ling) for one. My dear friend and brother Boon Yee another. However cliche I sound, I need to say this: christians are different. Yet, there are some other christians that makes me frustrated and sends me spinning in anger. "Personality" some might say. "Sin?" some might ask. But they made me angry and/ or disappointed all right? They make me wanna scream ok?

On another note, whether it be 'the still small voice' or whether you call it my 'conscience', my mind always made to react positive, not negatively, although sometimes I would act to the contrary. You know, the flesh is weak...

Whatever the reason why sometimes our own brothers and sisters upset us, and however we react, God is taking us through a journey of learning and experience- this is always what I hold on to. And this is really something I need to learn, to be gracious, to love, to forgive... something that I struggle. In all that I experienced, I sincerely hope, and honestly pray, that what I've gone through, I would not only learn from it, but also believe in it that loving is God's will , however 'hard' I think it is.

Father, thank you for Your manifold blessings, which is based upon Your great love. It is not that I love You, but You loved me first. Thank You for Your Son Jesus, who came to show me to love. I ask Lord for forgiveness over the many shortcomings and my disability to show love to my brothers and sisters. Cleanse me with the precious blood of the Lamb. Help me to hide Your Word in my heart to love. Help me react in a manner that is pleasing to Your eyes. Take me through this journey of faith as I keep my eyes fixed on You always, by Your grace. Amen

A poem by Anna Laetitia Wuring

2005-08-10T11:00:00.000+08:00

Father, I know that all of my life is portioned out for me

And the changes that are sure to come, I do not fear to see

But I ask Thee for a present mind, intent on pleasing Thee.

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, through constant watching wise,

To meet the glad with joyful smiles and to wipe the weeping eyes

And a heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro

Seeking for some great things to do or some secret thing to know

I would be treated as a child and guided where to go.

Wherever in the world I am, in whatsoever estate

I have fellowship with hearts to keep and cultivate

And a work of lowly love to do, for the Lord on whom I wait.

So I ask Thee for the daily strength, to none that ask denied

And a mind to blend with the outward live while keeping at Thy side

Content to fill a little space, if Thou art glorified.

And if sometimes I do not ask in my cup of blessing be,

I would have my spirit filled the more, with grateful love to Thee

More careful not to serve Thee much, but to please Thee perfectly.

There are briers besetting every path that call for patient care

There is a cross in every lot, and an earnest need for prayer

But a lowly heart that leans on Thee is happy everywhere.

In service which Thy will appoints there are no bonds for me

For in my inmost heart is taught the truth that makes Thy children free

And a life of self-renouncing love, is a life of liberty.

~Anna Laetitia Wuring~

My Longest Blog Ever

2005-08-03T00:10:00.000+08:00

There are different seasons in each of our lives. The bible tells us this in Ecclesiastes 3. In recent weeks, I have been going through a time of losing, something common in all of our lives. I lost my phone and my house/car keys in the matter of 7 days (that’s a week!); in between, I failed my Public Law paper. As if material loss is not ‘bad enough’, in some sense I lost my ego and my pride, in which are both fitting and good for heaven’s sake. I shall explain more on this.

For a great part of my life, I have always thought that I have life all under control. I guess the foolishness of thinking that I have a higher “I.Q.” than some of the people around me has gotten the better of me. As a result of my pride, the malady of crowning myself as lord of my own life come in to consume me, which is both my sin and deceit of the enemy. Although I always appear to be humble (looks can deceive!), parts of me are not. But thank to the Lord God, who is forever faithful and good, I manage to identify and thus deal with my lack of trust in Him. The events that had taken place during the past week or so have demonstrated that I am a human prone to mistakes and doomed for destruction. It is not just the losing of belongings, but also the lose of self-belonging. Indeed, not just the people around me who are disappointed with me, but most of all the self-disappointment that often comes in and push me off the cliffs into the pit. I was disappointed of this Nicholas Hor, whom I always thought was so reliable would lose such things as his “most-precious” Motorola V878, or his aunt’s house and car keys in a matter of weeks. Equally disappointing was the failure of the law paper that always thought so confidently that I could be able to pass. Lo and behold, it struck me like lightning, and in case you hadn’t realized, it struck me three times, in the same spot – the heart.

Since the beginning of history, man had never not been a disappointment, whether to themselves, to someone else, or to God. Yet, if we allow it, by God’s grace, and through Jesus Christ His only Son, we have hope in the midst of hopelessness; and light in the midst of darkness. “For all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory…” and “the wages of sin is death…” but “the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus”. And as I would put it- for all have been hopeless but God is here(!) to give us hope. As I walked into God’s sanctuary this morning, I begin to realize all His mercies and the mystery of His Grace. Whether my recent ordeal was from God, satan or man, God allowed it to happen (as what the beloved Dr Tan Soo Inn had shared) for His divine purposes. And if I shall add, God allows problems and troubles to happen to His people because He loves them, and somehow or rather, (and I boldly claim) brings back hope. So very often, we are only reminded of God’s grace in our troubles, not in our happy moments- a truth that Moses boldly claimed, “…When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 6:11-12). Although I always have the knowledge of being humility, as I entered His sanctuary, humility came as knowledge in the heart, not in the head. God loves the humble, the proud He will humble. “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2)

The Lord our God is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Lord of all creation, the Mighty One of Israel. He is the Master of our lives and the Banner of our hearts. Without humility, no one can truly say this. This is why God was so delighted with the trio of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (a question I have been pondering for some time now. Amen! God answers!). Because of Abraham’s humility, he trusted in God and willingly sacrificed Isaac. Because of Isaac’s humility, he pleaded with God for childless Rebekah. Because of Jacob’s humility, he refused to release God until God blessed him (credit to Joram for his God-revealed wisdom). And hence, God had never been ashamed to call Himself “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Someone once said, “humility” comes from the word “human”. I took a search through Oxford and found that much more real and truthfully, the word came from “humble”, and “humble” actually relates more to the word “humus”, in which know, is soil. The Word of God agrees and tells us that we were made from the “dust of the earth” (Genesis 2:7). Surely, to be humble is to know that we are but creation of God, coming from the dust, and would still only be dust if it was not for God, who breathed into us the breathed of life. This day I pray that God will continue to take me through this journey of humility, knowing more about His awesomeness and His grace, which is sufficient for me. I echo the words of David, “The one thing I ask of the Lord- the thing I seek the most- is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

In Your awesome presence, O Lord, there is fullness of joy. Amen

And so was the testimony of God’s hope-giving. But yet, the most important lesson I learnt for the past few days especially, was LOVE. Throughout my so-called ‘great trials’, many of the brothers and sisters around me continuous helped me and encouraged me. Indeed I am touched by their acts of love: my dear sister Joyce who fetched me around to find my keys and fetched me home when the search failed, brother Boon Yee who continuously helped me and fetched me, Sharon who prayed for me, and many more of my family’s (both at home and in church) encouragements. Undoubtedly, they are true followers of Christ for those who belong to Christ will love their brother… The Holy Spirit in me also convicts me that since the day is near, I really should begin to love. I confess that I have not loved enough previously and by the grace of God I shall pursue the God-given purpose of life:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength; and love your neighbour as yourself.

There are three things that will endure – faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

God is good and His love endures forever. I write this whole blog more to convict myself than anybody else. Indeed, I need to be reminded of His faithfulness and His love.

If you are reading this:

To God, who alone is wise, be the glory forever through Jesus Christ, Amen.

Without Righteousness, No One Can See God

2005-07-17T00:55:00.000+08:00

It is 3.45 in the morning. Time to sleep is of the essence; but the work and worship of the Lord should be of no delay. Since my exam is over, I have all the time in the world to do all that I enjoy and desire. But the flesh should not overtake the spirit and therefore I turn again to the Word of Life for spiritual bread.

It is an honour and a privilege to be a servant of the Most High God. Indeed becoming the leader of Christian Fellowship is a great challenge that I’m sure God will take me through. Yet, I still need to have personal growth with my Lord and Saviour, as what Brother Anthony had shared in CF meeting today. My outward acts of worship are of importance but the true test is of the heart- in which God looks at. I pray continuously that God will search my heart and convict me if there be any hypocrisy in me; yet I testify again to anyone reading this blog- I long to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul and strength. Love you, Jesus.

Even as I flip through the scripture and was praying for God’s guidance in leadership, God continued to show me 1 Timothy 4:12 (credit to Daniel who first ‘revealed’ it to me)

‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.’

I am young, though I’m older than half of the people in CF, but I look young, and I am of a small stature. But God continues to show me how faithful and how greatly he had and would use me in His work, to Him be glory forever and ever. How great Thou Art. What God desire is not the beautifulness of the outward, but the walk of the righteous. I admit sometimes I do not walk righteous in so many ways- especially in the things mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:12, but my prayer to God today (as of 4 a.m.) is for God the Father to work in me with His Spirit, through Christ Jesus my Lord and saviour- to be pleasing to Him in speech, in life, in love, in faith, in purity and in holiness.

We are Fantastic

2005-07-15T00:49:00.000+08:00

We were made fantastic too?

Four days of nearly sleepless nights never had a better ending. I arrived (after my contract paper) just in time for the 2.30 p.m. Fantastic Four screening at the new GSC Cinema in One Utama. Of course I managed to grab myself a pack of those sweet caramel poppies and storm straight into Hall 3. Surprisingly, my usual blurness during the afternoons were not present. And, before long, the usual comic strips (for most if not all Marvel Comic-depicted movies) flashed through the screen...

Fantastic Four has this usual introduction on how our heroes acquired their special abilities (Cosmic storm, reminds you of anything?). The next twist of the movie would, of course, turn to the difficulty of the 4 heroes in controlling their powers and how they used in for the good If you are a person seeking for lots of action scenes in the movie, you'd probably be surprised. On my last count, there were less than 4 or 5? What is most significant in this movie is how the four heroes deal with their own issues, whether with or without their super powers. These issues, are of course not far from the rest of us who are mere non-heroes:

Ben Grimm a.k.a The Thing
Perhaps the character that touched me the most. Ben Grimm, after the cosmic shower, had literally turned into the Thing. Something so different, so 'ugly' that his wife could not accept it and left him. From that moment, Ben needed to deal with his appearance, and the starings of many. In our life, are we also also struggling with our ugly appearance or our behaviour or our oddness for being Christ's servants?

Reed Richards a.k.a Mr Fantastic
As you will find in the movie, Reed is a consciencious person. He take all details into deep consideration before making a decision. Nothing wrong with that for a physics scientist except that you bring in formulas and equations for every other thing you do, including your relationship with others. Besides, that's a danger that you trust in your judgment and eyes too much rather than God. Do we live by sight or by faith?

Johnny Storm a.k.a. Human Torch
Johnny's the show-off type. From his riding-cum-kissing scene at the start of the movie, till his production of action figues of the fab 4, he believes in the outward appearance. Some of us are like Jon, they like showing off, whether it be a 'super power' or a special talent or wealth, yet do we show-off our faith in Christ?

Sue Storm a.k.a. Invisible Woman
Being able to switch from something to nothing and vice versa is a great gifting, but Susan's emotions needed some control. Her anger towards Reed (her ex) tore them apart just because Reed said 'no' on co-habiting. Anger is a powerful tool of destroying relationships, more so the God-man relationship. Moses learnt that the hard way; I hope I needn't. One question we all ought to ask ourselves is whether we get angry of God and turn away from Him when He says 'No'. Remember: God love us and sometimes He will not give us something we would regret having.

Oh yeah, by the way, did you know that all of us are fantastic too? The Bible says We were fearfully and wonderfully made.

Living in the Mercies and love of God

2005-07-08T11:01:00.000+08:00

I think it must have been more than 1 week since I've blog, I've lost count and I don't really care. But I'm back! God is good and well, He'd brought me through at least till today. And right now, I'm suppose to be studying but I'm sitting right here talking to my 'sis' Xi Ying and blogging. But well I'm happy about it especially if this blog glorifies God...:

Seeking God

Just that this week, except for the times that I've been studying and relaxing and doing nothing, I've beeen really serving and praying for God's guidance and surrendering. Taking up the presidency post (in CF) is to many a great, great responsibility- to me, it's a great great honour to serve God. And of course this in turn, will be indirectly a pressure to me but all I know, and all God wants me to know is to surrender all to Him and He loves me no matter what.

God's faithfulness

And, time-travelling back to 5 days ago, on Sunday, my church in Subang (CDPC) celebrated its 5th anniversary. Praise and thanksgiving and glory be unto God, to who all things were made and done. God has indeed been faithful to the church (you should have came and see the grand-ness and the skits and the performances). And above all that, GOd had been faithful to me since this 'temple' of mine was planted about 20 years ago. GOd really had been great in my life WOW WOW WOW - allow me to be crazy for a moment... ok, back to my seriousness- on the day of my church's anniversary, He did revealed just a little bit of His purpose for me in where He has put me, even in KDU and CDPC and I just felt so joyful and encouraged. Indeed, the God Almighty I worship is the God who hears and the God who works and the God who provides. Hallelujah!

So that is me. I guess right now I feel a bit disillusioned again with my exams coming and all. But deep in me I know He will take me through ... and always be there.

Brothers and Sisters

Just wrote a hopefully(touching) testimonial on friendster for my dear Sis Melody Hor, and really even as I receive love from God, GOd has really been leading me and guiding me to show love. And so, well, I find myself having this tendancy right now, to treat many people around me as 'brothers and sisters'... thought we are all brothers and sisters in Christ but to me, this bros and sis are much more special than. I usually don't mention names here but I really feel proud to have them as kins - Lik Ee, XiYing, Angela, Dianne.. and last but not least (though I've not really told him) Yap-whom has always been like my brother since secondary school days. So much for saying that, the most that I can really do is just to encourage them, and be around them- not to say I'm being proud here- but in Proverbs it has also been said that "It is good to know a friend (me paraphrasing it). And indeed, when I need encouragement, which I always do, they will and are encouraging me.

Thanksgiving

I think I'm getting a bit long-winded here so I'll stop. To those who are reading this blog, peace be with you and I shall pray for you if you need- just give me a tag... And may God bless you and keep you forever and ever...

"My heart and myflesh will fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever..." Psalm 73

Laziness- where is thy sting?

2005-06-28T03:02:00.000+08:00

Now it's less than 336 hours or 14 days or 2 weeks before my exam and seriously, I'm not at all prepared. Over the past 1 or 2 weeks, I've been telling myself I will surelly pass although I'm not so sure. But right now, I think my 'feelings' might be false hope. There are people who think that they are ready, but the real test is different... and the real test here is my finals- I screw this, I believe I will still survive and be successful in life (because God can turn things around) but time is wasted and I will lose blessings... just like Moses who did not enter the promised land. And even if I did survived, I will still struggle when my next exams... Therefore, I have made an effort to study and work hard. No matter what the distractions are...the sleepiness, the temptations... I believe that if I can overcome and go through this 3 weeks, I'll be able to overcome all exams to come.

Finally, this might just be mere words from me and nothing I mentioned might take place..but I can only hope that by end of this year... laziness will be my victim- through God's grace.. For God's glory and to Him be the glory if I succeed.

Worship and Thanksgiving Post

2005-06-28T02:03:00.000+08:00

Someone told me the other day that most of my posts on this blog is related to God... and that I am holy. It was not the first time. Indeed "Without holiness, no one can see God", but again I'm not holy, in many sense. But my rationale of me dedicating this blog to the"things of God" is this: Are there any good things in this world that's not given by God? And am I not a child of God and his servant and his soldier? My life is surrendered to Him and therefore what happens in my life has something to do with God...

'Circles, Triangles and Squares'- that was the theme of the CF Camp, of which I was the camp commandant. Believe me or not, Ms Sharon Lim did 90% of the work and I express my credit & appreciation to her. But why the shapes in a christian fellowship camp? To sum it all out, we have different personalities and characters but one God to worship. And at the end of the (third) day, really, it is more of God than our personalities and characters that matters. If my life is surrendered to him, it doesn't matter if I'm violent or angry or sweet, God is the one who is my all. Moses parted the red sea; Abraham was father of a nation; Peter was 'fisher of men'... all were imperfect- but faith saved them all and God exalted them.

I hereby thank God for bringing Chris to the camp to share and minister. I thank God for bringing me through this amazing challenge as camp commandant. I thank God for touching lives of many. I thank Him for the great fellowship with brothers and sisters... and most of all I thank God for giving me freedom as eagle in the sky and the authority and courage to say "Go to HELL , Satan!"

Thank You Jesus, Amen

Boring is only the 'mask' of an amazing life

2005-06-15T16:22:00.000+08:00

Today seems to be a boring day. But just 'seem'. Actually to come to think of it, it's really quite an interesting day.. i mean life shouldn't be boring, not just a few friends tell me that 'life is beautiful' or 'life is short, enjoy!' bla bla bla.. and well, to a certain extend, they have their point. My rationale would be:God didn't put me here to feel boring, right?

Enough about life, let's talk about here and now and today. Woke up at 730 this morning to go for a breakfast meet, which turned out to be quite meaningful.. but somehow I had to 'give and take'... I think the Roti Telur I ate turned out to be bad.. and I had food poisoning, which was quite bad, and I can still feel the 'effect' right now. Then I went to the lab with my laptop, planning to do some work but ended up chatting with my friend Jacin (who's enjoying her life in Melbourne). By the time I was done chatting, it was time to promote the CF camp in the booth. Probably the lowest point of my day, I had to endure severe stomachache while "jaga-ing" the booth (since I was alone there) for at least 15-20 minutes - 'God save me' was my response. Later when Ms Angeline came to take over, I had to suffer in the cubicle, the diarrhea was quite bad...

I got out just in time for contract class, and later tort- which nearly made me scream! I wasn't planning to answer the medical tort question and the whole class was entirely about MEDICAL TORT. Well, that's a law student's life in class... i guess. And so, after 1.5 hours of torture, i finally got out and rushed straight to the computer lab to do a learning survey, conducted by none other than the lovely Ms. Magdelene. In a way, it was much of a light part of this episode of Nic Hor's life since I won the 'survey-filling' competition with 2 of my classmates- in God we do have the victory, don't we? Just a wrong application of His Word, HAHA.

And finally, I get to blog here..after a seemingly long day. Mind you, this is not the epilogue for my version of 15th July 2005 yet. There's still a camp committee meeting in 5 minutes. And tonite might just be one of those nights...

This is really the insignificant part of my life. The micro level of it. One by one, these 'episodes' of our lives weaved into one beautiful story that will ups and downs and in-betweens. In the end, I would really hope and is convinced that when we die, we will all live happily ever after, like Cinderella or Beauty and the bees (I spelled this intentionally).

Last but not least, things such as SINS or even food poisoning are bombardments that the evil one seemed to have won. The battle might be lost, but the victory is secured in CHRIST JESUS.

Life's Mercies

2005-06-14T10:56:00.000+08:00

It's 11 am now and in 5 minutes time my contract lecturer (Mr. Foong) will be in class and in 4 minutes time I would have to run there with all my might. However, that's not going to stop me from blogging, since I saw jthe girl beside me (in the lab) just happily putting additions into her blog. You can say that it's envyness or even impulsive, haha.

Anyway, I just finished an e-mail notifying Dr Tan Soo Inn (he's the man!), inviting him to talk about Star wars and Christianity in our CF. Well, it's almost certain he would be free to share (considering the fact that we gave him 3 dates to choose from), and I'm delirious that it would be a GREAT experience and insight... Indeed Star Wars has a lot to do with our walk with Christ even though some might not agree with me.

I just went through a hell of a busy week but thanks to GOd's grace, I managed to survive. This week? Gonna be another one of those weeks that I would really say 'Thank God it's Friday'.. assuming I live to see the weekened coming. And if you ask me how's my spiritual walk? I'm growing in maturity, but only at the great mercies that my Heavenly Father had gladly poured. May God draw me and pour His love and Grace abundantly. AMEN.

Busy and busy and...

2005-06-09T16:37:00.000+08:00

If you are a frequent to this blog, you must be wondering what the h*** am I doing? or you must be thinking that I've given up on blogging... NO, I'm just too busy. Due to time constrains and the fact that I'm busy, these are some of my life's updates:

1. 2 assignments due this week- Just handed up contract assignment yesterday and Admin law (briefing paper) 2 will be due tomorrow. Talk about being a law student!

2. Went back to Ipoh last week; mum and dad fetched me back. Thanks. Had a great time with my family and friends... at the expense of the time doing my work. But it's ok...

3. Countdown 1 month- before my exam. And this time, it will be a craker. Although I'm optimistic about it, failing this will bring adverse, unimaginable consequences.

4. ...and finally, the blog's 'transformation' is almost done. Enjoy yourself.

Thanks all.

Updating my blog

2005-05-30T16:32:00.000+08:00

I am in the process of enhancing and upgrading notweak.blog. I apologize for any inconvenience/delay/'cacat-ness'.

Recent Updates
Favourites & Bible verse of the week : added.

Confusion

2005-05-30T16:08:00.000+08:00

Many people go through life staying put in certain locations, turning round and round; and more often than not, they feel dizzy as the world around them spin. I am in such a situation right now though I don't know why. There are so many confusions and frustrations though I can't put it in words. There are so many things in my life right now that are hindering my growth in God, so many battles lost. I know that the War has already been won by Our Lord Jesus but will I be in the winning side at the End? In my service to the KING, I was always there to impact people but what about myself. In the dawn of a new era for me, this is the worst I could have expected. Would I end this year as a scum (as I was the same time last year) again? I pray oh God, that I wont. I truly and madly need discipline in my life- spiritual discipline that requires divine help. I am free because JESUS paid the price. YOU are my King and friend. Draw me close to you...

1 Corinthians 9:27

²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

2005-05-24T22:50:00.000+08:00

Group photo from church camp.. Proud of all you guys!

Pathway To Spirituality

2005-05-24T22:29:00.000+08:00

The pathway to the Light is not easy

It was like the blurrest 3 days of my life. Due to the natureof the camp itself I must say that there was no 'WOW' (a sudden dramatic positive change of life) effect, unlike some other camps I've been. Both a good thing and a bad thing. One of the things about the WOW effect is that it does not last long usually. Anyway, it was a great experience nonetheless, now that I've discovered my tempearament in my pathway to spirituality. But most of all, I thank God for the fellowship I had with the people there and a good weekend-off the usual calendar.

My dominant trait

1) Comtemplative- loving God through adoration
Key idea: As 2 lovers do nothing but gaze into each other's eyes, the
contemplative holds hand with God and gazes lovingly at God until his
heart's delight is satisfied.

2) Enthusiasts-loving God with mystery and celebration
Key idea: God is to be lovedwith gusto, so we must let go and encounter him
with all excitement and awe.

May God, through His Spirit, strengthen my inner being.

Heaven is in your heart!

2005-05-11T23:58:00.000+08:00

Kingdom of Heaven is better than Troy or King Arthur. Not because of the cinematic effects, good acting, or ORLANDO BLOOM... but because it taught me one or two things about life, and confirmed a few others.

Meet Belian of Ibelene (Orlando Bloom), son of Godfrey. Before he was knighted (by his dying father), he was a sinful blacksmith.. he killed a somewhat wicked priest who deserved to die anyway. Just few years down the road, Belian needs to defend the city of Jerusalem from the 'mighty' Saladin, the muslim leader of the Saraceans. As one might suspect, this movie is what is called 'politically sensitive' (or should I use religion-ly sensitive). Muslims and christians fighting and racing to control the Holy City, God is with him who wins..Classic, ain't it?

That being said, the underlying lesson is one of great importance. The 'kingdom of heaven' mentioned in the Bible is not on earth- not in Jerusalem. It is out-of-the-world. Muslims and crusaders at that time miss the point! As even in Isaiah 55 it is said 'your thoughts are not My thoughts... declares the Lord'. The kingdom of heaven is established when Jesus returns in all his glory, and as Belian has also said- it is in our heart. If we love God, and do what is right, and be blameless.. the Kingdom of Heaven has already been established in us.

One more issue highlighted in the movie: Are we required to do evil for the GREATER good? May God be my guide, and teach me if I ever fall into this situation.

Enjoying Your Youth means Playing AND Studying Hard!

2005-05-09T16:49:00.000+08:00

Just had a great weekend.. and in some ways, the weekend is extending itself right up to this very moment. Well, sometimes, students just don't understand workers (working people, that is) but do workers really understand students? Ok, fine, they were once students as well, but humans are a forgetful bunch- plus: times have changed. Back then, there were no posh malls, no internet, no DOTA, no PS2, no happening peers... all you can do is study, eat and sleep.

The modern student is different. Temptations are everywhere. Study is still fun- but the rest is 'funner'. This doesn't mean that they are a spoilt lot. Yes they have fun 24-7, but they too worry about their studies at the same time. They know that screwing the math paper means disaster, but the yound self just doesn't justify itself by actions, if you understand what I mean. In conclusion, while the past generations had no worries but to study and sleep, the current generation has much more worry, for the reasons given above. This is not a bad thing, since we grow in our problems, don't we? Saying that, however, actions speak louder than worries. For God and for our parents, I guess I'll try hard to choose the less fun activity more - studying.

My schedule from 7th - 9th May 2005
Saturday
Morning- Helped in a disabled telematch event
Afternoon- spent time with the Awana Kids in Church
Night- Eu Joe's birthday party, eating nasi lemak (something new) and
barbeque

Sunday
Morning- Guess what? Church, of course
Afternoon- met a friend, and his lawyer friend
Evening- futsal with the testerone-filled church dudes
Night- went dinner with aunts and uncles; watch 'Lost' on AXN

Monday
Morning- Ms Meera's interesting Criminal lecture
Afternoon- Watched 'Kingdom of Heaven', starring Orlando Bloom (the movie
rowks)- by the way, the last time I watched a movie was 'Constantine'.. so I'm
really deprieved of it, me being a movie fan.
NOW- blogging- arguably the most boring thing I've done for the past 3
days... Hahaha

...Now that's what I call LIFE. Oh ya, I really pray that I'll be able to spend more time with God, though. Forgive me, Lord.

A letter to the campers

2005-04-28T15:03:00.000+08:00

Here's my very first written speech for a camp, and it's not for myself, but I'm very proud nonetheless HAHAHA :

Dearest
campers,

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate and thank all of you for taking
time out to join this Super Camp organized by the Rotary Club, KL division. I
must say that it is a great privilege for all of you who are attending since you
are among the 150 lucky members of respective Interactive Clubs members across
Kuala Lumpur to be selected to join this year’s
camp.

This year’s camp theme is entitled ‘Towards a Caring Society’. Lately, we find
that the people in our nation are generally lacking the care towards those less
fortunate than us. Day after day, the mass media has never ceased to report of
cases of abandoned children or abused elderly, among others. As a result, these
individuals are cornered into orphanages and old folks’ home respectively. These
people often suffer a hard time in the ‘homes’, where inadequate care and
attention are given. Also, the ‘spirit of neighbourhood’ that was so inherent in
our society just over 2 decades ago has now long disappeared. We are often more
concerned about ourselves than our family, neighbours and friends. This attitude
has been shown to cause a rise in many crimes that can easily be prevented if a
passer-by or neighbour had lent a helping hand. In the wake of such a situation
in Malaysia, the theme of the camp will be centred on building a caring society.
To do so, it must start from us. Learn to care and you will inevitably find
yourself being cared for in your rainy
days.

Also, one of the chief objectives of this super camp is team-building. Through
various activities such as jungle-trekking, river rafting and ‘flying fox’,
students are expected to learn to live as a society, rather than only an
individual. I urge you, therefore, to take time and effort in building good
relationships among all the campers and helping each other to complete each
activity or task. It is my duty to encourage you to ‘leave no man behind’. In
this camp, no one has a privilege over the other. We are all learning to be
tolerant and caring, two values that are essential in our day-to-day association
with members of the
society.

Last but not least, do enjoy yourselves throughout the entire camp. I truly hope
that this camp will be an unforgettable occasion that you would take to remember
all the days of your lives. I express my deep appreciation to you once again for
participating in this Super Camp.

Thank you.

Somehow, you're the best!

2005-04-28T14:31:00.000+08:00

OK. YES> It has been 12 days since I entered my last blog entry. But, NO> I did not forget about my dearest blog 'notweak.blogspot.com' nor was I lazy. Sometimes, circumstances mean the freedom to blog whenever you like isn't in your hands, eg. your computer cannot load the blogger.com page or you have 9 assignments to pass up in a week.

Despite the so called 'circumstances', my life was somewhat interesting (as always) since I last blogged. Among the more significant 'events' was the public law briefing paper I completed (by God's grace, really) after I skipped 6 hours of classes. Mummy and papa, forgive me. Also, I went back to Ipoh for a well deserved rest. Caught up with the bunch of friends there and my beloved family (oh ya, my mum would include the rabbits, for that matter).

But really, my family's really people whom I really should cherish. They are permanent (hey, friends can be turned enemies) and they pay for our food (in PJ, you're on your own, man!). In addition, they are really really someone I can count on and smile with and be loved. Somehow, sometimes I just can't grasp it but somehow they are really the COOLEST and most DEPENDABLE. Thank God for people who's in my life and somehow showed me that. And thank God, ya, we do not know love if He had not first love us.

Erm.. this might sound cliche but it's seriously, magnificently, honestly true: Love you papa, mummy, and Min Min. :D

2005-04-17T01:56:00.000+08:00

Darkness is coming your way this May

Why, Lord?

2005-04-17T01:38:00.000+08:00

If there is a good friend who doesn't hurts, it's you
If there is a smile thatI'm obsessed to gain, it's yours
If there were a person whom I need to wait for a 100 years, it'll be
you
If there were someone I could thank when I look at something beautiful,
it'll be you

When I fall in love, I run to you
When I break someone's heart, I run to you
When someone breaks my heart, I run to you
When I screw up a frienship, I run to you
When I gain a frienship, I run to you

If darkness surrounds me, I've got you
If everyone hates me, you still love me
If evrything goes against me, you've got something good for me
If I fall, you'll pick me up each and everytime

I don't deserve anything, Lord... but You gave them anyway. I thought I deserved the things I had, but you took them away. If I only learn one thing about life, Lord, let it be that life is nothing about me...