I have never heard the audible voice of God.

I suppose it would be cool, like how Elijah heard, or Moses heard or Joshua or even any one of those kings of Judah/Israel who heard, and still didn’t follow. I used to wonder, how in blazes can they hear God’s voice and STILL not follow?? What do you need, God smashing a gong on your head?

The closest thing to an audible voice could be a revelation in a dream, or during devotion in the bible, or in worship, or in prophetic words, or in situations such as a major car crash etc.

Or someone calling you on the mobile. And that someone happens to be a person extremely sensitive to the voice of God. EXTREMELY.

There were two instances where I had the honor of Pastor Julie calling. Well, ok, she called more than that, but two instances of spiritual significance. The first was last year when I was struggling in my job, and was deciding to move roles. She called, confirmed it and I went on to submit my transfer.

The second time was recently when I was asking the question, or rather stating my frustrations: That I feel that I’m acting outside the will of God. That I am feeling inadequate in ministry. That I am wondering whether what I do is self righteous pride. That I am feeling a false sense of humility, to cloak a deeper pride. That I am absolutely sinful…like how Isaiah said, that our righteousness are like rags. Paul was even more frank, comparing our righteousness to crap. Seriously.

Pastor Julie called just as I finished voicing my questions.

She went straight to the point. None of this, hey how you’re doing, how’s life? Cool? etc etc. She said, “Are you having any problems?” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. In that brief conversation of 10 minutes, it was as if God has decided to answer some of my questions.

The first message was a loving reminder. Genesis 8:1, God REMEMBERS. Psalms 8:4, Who is man, that God is MINDFUL of him? Matthew 10:30: God knows you and all parts of you. It’s a little mind boggling that God would care so much for us. Where science fails to explain, in all their wisdom and knowledge, faith acknowledges that God loves. That’s it. There’s no reasoning behind it. Not because we’re good, or beautiful, or kind, or smart. He simply, loves.

The second message was a stern warning. To guard our anointing. Anointing can be lost. The Holy Spirit left Saul after his sins. David almost lost his anointing but he repented. It doesn’t take a special person to be anointed. The Spirit enables us to have gifts. Ultimately, gifts to glorify him. When we start abusing these gifts, or taking them for granted, there’s where the danger is. Worship leaders, we prepare so hard for our first time, but as we continue on, we slowly fall into a routine….we know what songs to sing, we know how to sing it optimally, we know what to say, we know when to cry. Hypocrisy comes in very subtle forms. We don’t even realise it. After being a christian for some time, you know how to push the right buttons, and our worship becomes a clanging cymbal. Doesn’t matter if you got a good voice. The same goes for the other ministries. When we dabble in sin, when we fail to forgive, when we harbor bitterness, lust, anger…can we still go up there and minister? Can we still lead a cell group? Can we still say the correct things, but not feel what we’re saying?

As much as God loves us, He is also our judge. And while much focus has been on the loving part of God’s character, we must be reminded: He HATES wickedness. And while He loves us, He will still judge us. But we’re not perfect…how can then we be acceptable ever?
And finally, Pastor Julie’s message during the weekend came in. 1 John 3:18-20.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

The cool factor in these verses is the last bit. He is GREATER than our hearts. The feeling of inadequacy, or past burdens, of condemnations…what is said here is this: The heart is important, but its not always correct in all things. How many times have we condemned ourselves saying, oh, I will never overcome this stronghold, because I have sinned too much, God will never forgive etc etc. Wow. What about Romans 8:1? There is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus!

We can accept the fact that perfection will be a life long journey, until we receive our glorified body. Until then, we will STILL face temptation, but with hope, that even if our hearts continue to condemn us, we know a greater truth of freedom.

I don’t know how Pastor Julie could discern…not only my questions, but at exactly the moment I finished my questions. It is bizarre and somewhat scary, and I am reminded of what she said: “Humble yourself, because you don’t want God to humble you.”

I guess God’s smashing a gong on my head.

40 day pray and fast for the city!

Sharing a Book Review on Steve Farrar’s Finishing Strong.
 
Steve Farrar  - A man with constant boldness for his wife, children and his Lord is an uncommon commodity in recent times. Steve Farrar gives a shocking statistics that no more than one in ten men finish strong. We are all familiar with the race metaphor the Apostle Paul spoke of in the epistles. This book talks about into great fine points, with myriads examples of real live, what it means to be finishing strong.
 
The book is divided into three (3) main parts. The preface to the first part is filled with live illustrations of people who started off strong, however failed to finish it strong. It is entrancing when Steve Farrar compares the upshot of Billy Graham, Chuck Templeton, and Bron Clifford, all started strong and all failed the mark but one – Billy Graham. Steve Farrar was quick to draw us attention that finishing strong doesn’t mean finishing perfect or flawless. Furthermore, one can still finish strong even though he had a poor start. In the remaining chapters of Part 1, Steve Farrar went on to tip us off on ambushes that prevent us from finishing strong ; ambush of another women, ambush of money, and ambush of a neglected family. To keep on track, Steve Farrar gave four reinforcement “stay” principles : stay in the scriptures, stay close to a friend, stay away from other women, and stay watchful to the devices of the enemy. Do note the importance of staying away from the lure of other women. There are biblical accounts of man who threw it all away – Samson, David, and Solomon finished so-so due to their philandering ways.
 
Part 2 clenches the readers with a listing of “not-to-do” list for a man who intends to finish strong. An interesting correlation and session was drawn from the Titanic on how sin will take you further than you wanted to go, longer then you wanted to stay and cost you more than you are willing to pay. One chapter talks about pride at length, using the life and times of King Uzziah as an example of a man who started off very strong in the Lord but in conclusion spirals out outrageously. Steve Farrar was very in depth when explaining how that takes place, quoting both from scriptures and supported by present-day examples. In the final chapter of the part, a man is called to be a leader in their family and community they are accountable to. It is outlined what marks an “unleader” that ought to be avoided – being unservant, unteachable, unreasonable, uncongenial, and a dejected family.
 
As the concluding part to the book, Part 3 compliments Part 2 by providing prototypes of what it means to be finishing strong. One chapter is devoted to explaining at length that it doesn’t matter how we awful we begin, on condition that we finish strong. There were myriads of examples being illustrated, and it is encouraging to know that the Lord is still on a lookout for men who is willing to unequate their past lives and move ahead to enter His glory by finishing strong. Another chapter describes how God uses failures to mould man into His image to be used for His glory. Steve Farrar uses an amusing approach of likening failure to a degree called Masters in Character Acquisition. He talks about stylishly the degrees core courses at great lengths using biblical examples. The concluding chapters speak about the visualization for the finish line and the continued existence to keep pushing oneself close to that line.
 
The whole book is filled with accounts of characters from the Holy Bible and present-day examples, which makes the read both interesting and appropriate. Unlike many books which are possibly more theoretical and philosophically inclined, Steve Farrar’s straight-to-the-gut approach and a predisposition to outline core messages meant that this a straightforward book to read and understand.
 
Generally, a must read for all men (and women) out there who wants to live a significant life for Christ.
 
 

A very Happy Chinese New Year to all. Yeap, blessed holidays and journey mercy for those who are traveling. Xin Nian Kuai Le. 

John 1:16, And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 

This Chinese New Year, out of the fullness of God’s grace, let us all receive:

1)Forgiveness 

1 Corinthians 15: 3-4, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures”

2)Healing 

1 Peter 2:24, “It is by His wound that you have been healed.”

3)Prosperity 

2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

4)Peace 

 John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  

5)Relationship with God 

James 2:23, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteous,’ And he was called the friend of God.”

Well, I tremendously enjoy the math below and was almost rolling off from my chair when I was reading this at work, getting stares from my colleagues. 

And here, sharing some interesting theories… about human and pigs. 

Human = eat + sleep + work + enjoy 

Pigs = eat + sleep 

And therefore human = pigs + work + enjoy 

And if human – enjoy = pigs + work 

In another word, human that does not know how to enjoy life = pigs that work 

Men = eat + sleep + earn money 

Pigs = eat + sleep 

And therefore men = pigs + earn money 

And if men – earn money = pigs  

In another word, men that do not earn money = pigs  

Women = eat + sleep + spend 

Pigs = eat + sleep 

And therefore women = pigs + spend 

And if women – spend = pigs 

In another word, women that do not spend = pigs 

So, what summary do we get here, one may wonder…. 

Well…. 

Men earn money not to let women become pigs! 

Women spend not to let men become pigs! 

Men + Women = 2 pigs 

Ha-P Chai-Neze New YeR, people!!! 

Our original plan was noble enough.

Head up to Genting on the second day of Chinese New Year to do some exercise. Either jungle trekking or taking the stairs from the cable car station to Genting. Both plans went out the window when:

a) Jungle trekking was more like a nature walk in Awana to look at the flora fauna…zzzzz.

b) Stairs from cable car exists, but is only to service the cable poles and not for public use.

c) Genting looks awfully far to walk to from Gotong Jaya.

d) Some trekking trails were available but all had the “Trespassers will be shot” sign.

e) Stories that trekkers found too many dead bodies dumped at the side. Not dead bodies of raccoons either…dead bodies of people…gamblers who in all likelyhood had a bad time at the casino the night before, or trekkers who ignored the aforesaid signs.

And so, with our exercise on hold, we hopped onto the cable car and headed up to Genting for fun.

Here are some pictures. All of them uploaded to Threeds Picture site. Thanks to Sue for these!

One of the many species of fauna found in Genting

Liang’s head reflecting sunlight and radiating warmth for the girls

We did mostly serious, matured activities up there

Sharing this poem with all: 

I would be true, for there are those who trust me; 

I would be pure, for there are those who care; 

I would be strong, for there are those who suffer; 

I would be brave, for there are much to date; 

I would be friend of all – the foe and the friendless; 

I would be giving, and forget the gift; 

I would be humble, for I know my weakness; 

I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift. 

~ Howard A. Walter ~ 

p/s: quite a thoughtful poem, heh…. 

18/2 and 19/2

A colleague of mine once told me she got no time to pray. I was taken aback, of course. Given 24 hours a day, one could easily find time for other things like newspapers, TV, leisure activities, etc I suppose. So why can’t one find time to pray, I wonder. Even Jesus Christ stole time from sleep to pray. 

Probably this colleague stays in a crowded apartment and that is why she claimed she got no place to pray. Well, for me, it is always possible to go for a walk with Jesus Christ, regardless of a short walk or even a long walk. 

Ok, if we do not know what to pray for, then we could make a list – friends and loved ones who need guidance and protection, those whom we know are not feeling well/ weak, the needs of the church we are attending, our very own needs of course, and so forth. 

Even so, we must not put in mind that prayer would only be effective when it arises from an eager and emotional heart. Those who have achieved great power in prayer would tell us floods of feeling come only in times of intercession. Hmm, ok, so we all must be trained to keep appointments with God, whether we feel liking it or not. 

In general, the great practitioners of prayer would reassure us that God can do more with us when we pray against our inclination than when we pray with it. The willingness to submit to Him deepens our surrender; our strength of mind to go to God constructs steel into our commitment in Christianity. For this reason, it is faith, and not feeling/ emotion, that measures the effectiveness of a prayer. 

At times, I do feel dumb-founded and simply find it somewhat easier said than done within my strength of mind to reconcile my so-called unanswered prayers to God. Err, I don’t know, probably ignorance is truly a bliss. Yet ironically, knowledge is power-lerr. Ok, or most likely, I should say, it is the wisdom that I am lack of… yeap, most probably it is. 

Let us use disappointment as a material for patience 

Let us use success as a material for thankfulness 

Let us use trouble as a material for perseverance 

Let us use danger as a material for courage 

Let us use reproach as a material for long suffering 

Let us use praise as a material for humility 

Let us use pleasure as a material for temperance 

Let us use plain as a material for endurance

~John Baillie~  

To sum up, prayer is more than a suggestion – it is a command, to be precise. Prayer is to be offered at all times, and for all people. It ought to be the very first thing we do when we are in difficulties or encountering problems. 

Luke 18:1, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

John 16:24, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Ephesians 6:18, “ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

James 5:13, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” 

1 Timothy 2:1, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” 

Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways.” 

Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

 James 4:2, “Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” 

Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

Colossians 1:27, “… Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 

Thomas’ Birthday!

Affluence is an easy habit to adjust to, and indulgence is easy to rationalize. What we need today are some radical Christians who will love for the Lord first, and the world last.

~Larry Burkett~  

Having a Kingdom perspective is recognizing that God owns everything. Until that is rooted deeply in our beliefs, simply after that can we identify that we are just managers in God’s enterprise, accountable for the stewardship of His resources. 

Some of us Christians possibly might have complexity believing in the personal guidance of God, hence, hardly ever put God in top priority when encountering complicated situation in our everyday life. 

Well, God guides along five (5) main routes, and below I listed ‘em down for your perusal: 

1)     Through prayerful reading of the Scriptures 

2)     Through the preaching of God’s Word 

3)     Through reason 

4)     Through circumstances 

5)     Through a strong inner witness 

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

James 4:2-3, “Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”   

Psalm 25:9, “The humble He guides in justice; And the humble He teaches His way.” 

Psalm 25:4-5, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.”  

Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.”  

Psalm 48:14, “For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.”