Johann’s Birthday!

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Check out all the pics here :- http://flickr.com/photos/nicktay/sets/72157601400781171/

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Well, my friend shared this with me, and here I just wanna share the following paragraphs under a subsection heading “A Habit Of Attention” from the ever-popular book entitled, “Prayer: Does it Make any Difference?” by Philip Yancey.

  

‘Be still and know that I am God’. I read in this familiar verse from Psalms two commands of equal importance. First, I must be still, something that modern life conspires against. Ten years ago, I responded to letter within a couple of weeks and kept my correspondents happy. Five years ago, I faxed a response in a couple of days and they seemed content. Now they want email responses the same day and berate me for not using instant Messaging or a mobile phone. Mystery, awareness of another world, an emphasis on being rather than doing, even a few moments of quiet do not come naturally to me in this hectic, buzzing world. I must carve out time and allow God to nourish my inner life.   On a walking pilgrimage to Assisi in Italy, the writer Patricia Hampl began to make a list in answer to the question, what is prayer? She wrote down a few words. Praise. Gratitude. Begging/ pleading/ cutting deals. Fruitless whining and puling. Focus. And then the list broke off, for she discovered that prayer only seems like an act of language: ‘fundamentally it is a position, a placement of oneself.’ She went on to discover that, ‘Prayer as focus is not a way of limiting what can be seen; it is a habit of attention brought to bear on all that is.’   Ah a habit of attention. Be still. In that focus, all else comes into focus. In that rift in my routine, the universe falls into alignment. Stillness prepares me for the second command: ‘know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ Only through prayer can I believe that truth in the midst of a world that colludes to suppress, not exalt, God.  

To sum it up, God do speaks with pin-point accuracy, doesn’t He? 

Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the Lord will wait That He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you,For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

 

 

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I’ve always been fascinated by the 12 Apostles. I mean, here you have 12 guys who walked, talked, ate with Jesus for the 3 years of his ministry. 12 guys (well, 11, after Judas decided to go rogue, but he was replaced by Matthias), who has first hand encounter with the Lord, broke bread in that first communion, most likely laughed and joked with Him, hung out with Him, played a round of scrabble or ping pong with Him.

It fascinates me that there is so little known about the 12. The word twelve apostles brings up images of a couple of rocks in the Great ocean Road drive. In fact, most of us won’t even be able to name the 12 guys. I used to think, well, there’s umm, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John….and get stuck there. And that’s not even correct!!

One one hand it’s good that the 12 remained so anonymous throughout the gospel. It showed that the glory of Jesus and His story was the primary focus. On the other hand, it leaves us with haphazard guesses of who these 12 fellows were, saints or fishermen, perfect or flawed; who were they and what did they do? Peter the loudmouth? John the softie? Thomas the doubter? Judas the one-you-will-not-name-your-kids-after?

I also originally wanted to write and research the stories of the 12, and even brought it up to our church production that we should do a musical of the 12. We can just call it ‘12′, a’la ‘300′, the movie.

Two things helped me out: Wikipedia and John MacArthur. Wikipedia is full of stuff. Some are a little strange and not entirely accurate, so you do need to research with a little bit of wisdom, especially on issues concerning Christ. John MacArthur has always been one of my favourite conservative authors. He’s old school, Bible pounding guy who takes very little liberties in interpreting the Bible. He’s straight to the point, heaven and hell, we are sinners, if you can’t handle the truth, well, so be it. He’s probably on the other end of the spectrum compared to feel good, God wants the best for you, seeker sensitive guys like Joel Osteen. In fact, John MacArthur got into an infamous argument on Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, on some of the Biblical relevance of his book and he got blasted by the American public as he was misrepresented by the world’s biggest misrepresentor, CNN, as an envious, jealous minister to Rick Warren’s success. Read it here.

John MacArthur’s book 12 Ordinary Men is a great read. Unlike Wiki, this book really delves deep into the characters of the apostles. Granted, several assumptions had to be made, given the lack of text in the Bible, but he solidifies each assumptions with scripture, and those he assumes, he correctly makes note of it and does not represent it as the truth. I am half done, but he talks about the 12 not as saints but flawed characters that you and I can identify with. He talks of their strengths, but he talks about their weaknesses as well.

Do we talk before we think, always saying the wrong stuff, always putting our foot in our mouth and offending people, but use it to hide our insecurity and cowardice? That’s Peter.

Are we quiet, background workers, not capable with speaking or preaching to many people, that some might say there is a lack of leadership or assertiveness? That’s Andrew.

Are we overzealous, insensitive and task oriented guys that always step on people’s foot and not really caring much of what people think of us? That’s James.

Or are we sensitive, soft spoken, yet cliquish, superior, sectarian and narrow minded individuals who think we are better than the others? That’s John, the apostle of love.

Are we calculative, analytical, faithless, indecisive and overly pragmatic? That’s Philip.

Are we prejudiced to certain races, groups of people, gender? That’s Nathanael Bartholomew.

Are we haunted by a past of sin, hated by many, rejected by all, yet accepted by Jesus? That’s Matthew the tax collector.

Are we doubting, pessimistic, never positive about a situation kind of person? That’s Thomas.

Do we feel we lack the charisma or presence like other leaders? Look at the two obscure disciples James son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus.

Or someone coming from the criminal side of life, a rogue, a thief, someone associated with the gangsters? That’s Simon the Zealot.

Of 12, 11, despite their weaknesses were vindicated through history by the power of God.

Only one refused to allow Jesus to work and in one the saddest stories of all time, his fall was complete and utterly devastating, providing the most horrifying verse in the Bible in John 18:27:

“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.”

Imagine, during the Holy Communion, beside Jesus, that a demon possession case occurs. No, not any demon, but the artiste formerly known as Lucifer himself. I suppose no other demon would be dumb enough to go to work when Jesus was there, so Satan had to clock in some OT for that. But to allow Satan to come in while next to Jesus, Judas had to have a totally depraved and unreachable heart. That’s why the love of money, that Judas had, was considered the root of all evil. We might be like that, but there’s always a way out, always a chance to come back to the Lord. I believed Judas had choices before he went down the road he could no longer returned from. Where are we storing our riches?

The remaining 11, and Matthias pressed on and receiving their rewards in full, in heaven, they were martyred and exiled for the love of the One they walked with and loved.

Which one of these apostles are we?

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Alvin’s Birthday!

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Cell Meeting – 10 August 2007

Joshua 20 – 24

1. Appointment of cities of refuge (Jos 20)

· Purpose – Cities where a man who has unintentionally and accidentally killed another person can flee to (this was also discussed in Num 35)

· The “man” can seek refuge in these cities from those who may want to harm him as a result of these deaths

· The “man” must stay within the city limits – if he leaves the city, then he may be killed by the kinsmen of the dead, and it would not be considered murder. The “man” can only leave the city after the death of the anointed high priest

· The idea is that the “man” would be entitled to a fair trial before the “correct” or “right” punishment is handed down unto him

· 6 cities were appointed as the cities of refuge – 3 west of River Jordan and 3 east of River Jordan. They are as follows:

1. Kadesh (city of sanctuary)

2. Shechem (city of shoulder)

3. Hebron (city of fellowship)

4. Bezer (city of fortress)

5. Ramoth (city of exaltation)

6. Golan (city of joy)

· Lessons to be learnt:

a) Presumed innocent until proven guilty

b) Difference between murder and manslaughter - the legal ramifications and the appropriate punishment were established even in the Old Testament time!

c) Refuge - Place of safety from danger or trouble

2. Cities appointed for the Levites (Jos 21)

· Levites were not to inherit a territory as a tribe. Rather they were to be given cities scattered throughout the Promised Land

· 48 cities were allocated to the Levites – including the 6 cities of refuge mentioned in Jos 20

· Levites were divided into 3 families according to the sons of Levi:

1. The Kohathites (descendants of Aaron, which includes the priests) – were given 13 cities

2. The balance of Kohathites – were given 10 cities

3. The Gershomites – were given 13 cities

4. The Merarites – were given 12 cities

· In Jos 21 – we see how the Lord fulfilled His promise to Abraham in Genesis when He said that He would give the Israelites the Promised Land

3. The Eastern Tribes built an altar (Jos 22)

· The Eastern tribes (Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh) were required to help in the conquest of the land, west of Jordan River, before they could return back to their own land to settle down

· Once this was achieved, they went back to the east of Jordan river and set about to built an altar. Joshua parting words to the 2 ½ tribes were that they were to remain truthful and faithful to God

· When the 9 ½ tribes of Israel heard that the Eastern tribes had built an altar, they prepared for war. Their fear was that the 2 ½ tribes built an altar to worship God separately from the Western tribes

· However, before they set out for full scale war fare, the Western tribes sent a delegation consisting of Phinehas, son of Eleazar and 10 chief rulers, representing the heads of the 9 ½ tribes

· The delegation of the Western tribes warned the Eastern tribes not the change the pattern of worship that God has ordained

· They recalled the story of Achan where one man sin and the whole family was punished. Similarly, the Western tribes were fearful that the “sins” of the Eastern tribes may anger the Lord to punish the entire nation of Israelites

· The Western tribes were willing to give the Eastern tribes land to settle on the Western shores in order to deter the Eastern tribes to worship at an altar not designated by God

· The Eastern tribes then explained the actual reason(s) why an altar was built on the Eastern shores:

- the altar is not meant to be a place of separate worship nor was there any intention of the 2 ½ tribes to use the altar as place to offer sacrifice of any kind;

- instead the altar was to serve as a reminder to future generations that the Eastern tribes were part of Israel and that they should be included in the worship of God at the designated place. The 2 ½ tribes were fearful that the future generations may conclude that since they live on the east of Jordan river, that they were not part of Israel’s worship to God

· The Western tribes accepted the explanation given by the Eastern tribes.

· Lessons to be learnt:

a) Before disciplining who we might think is guilty of sin or wrongdoing, establish the actual facts to the situation and why certain things were done. Don’t prejudge – many times people may not have done what we thought they did

b) If however, wrongdoing and sin has been committed, as a fellow sister and brother in Christ, God holds us accountable if we not rebuke and oppose the sin. But in all situations – rebuke must be done in love

4. Joshua’s parting words to the nation of Israel (Jos 23 – 24)

• · Joshua recollected how the Israelites came to inherit the Promised Land (from the time of Abraham to the successful conquest) and how it was not through their own strength but it was God who delivered them into the Land, where they could

- live in the cities that they have not built

- eat crops which they have not planted

- enjoy the fruits of other people’s labour – ie the plunder, the treasures, the livestock

• · Key verse: Jos 24:15 “…As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

• · Joshua sought their confirmation that they will only serve God and no one else. The Israelites affirmed the confirmation (not once but three times! See verse 16, 21 & 24). The Israelites were also not to intermarry with the people of the Land. Joshua also said the God of Israel is a holy and jealous God (v19) – if the Israelites do not serve Him faithfully, He will bring disaster upon the land and Israelites (– see Judges onwards)

• At Shechem, the covenant was renewed by the Israelites in affirming their loyalty to God. Joshua symbolised this covenant by taking a stone and setting it by an oak tree, to serve as a permanent witness to the Israelites and the generations to come that they had committed themselves to the Lord

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Decision Making - A Consultation Process with God

Last Friday in cell, I continued on with the Cell notes series on the Book of Joshua. The discussion centred on Joshua, chapters 7 to 19. It begins with the sin of one man, Achan and ends with the allotment of the Land via sacred lots to the 7 remaining tribes, with a final allocation of land to Joshua. The points to the sharing are attached; you can use them as a guide as you read further into the book of Joshua.

I do however want to bring up one key point from the discussion last Friday; that is how relevant and important it was for the Israelites to consult God as they strategise in their battle within the promised land. The both times they faltered in consulting with the Lord, serious repercussions ensued. Chapter 7 discusses the “tail between their legs” kind of defeat suffered by the Israelites at Ai. Why? Because the Israelites never asked the Lord for guidance in their initial battle of Ai. They lost miserably! Their second attempt (Chapter 8 ) to capture Ai was victorious because God gave them a specific battle plan which the Israelites followed to a tee.

It’s ironic that in the following chapter, ie Chapter 9, we read about the Gibeonites deception. Once bitten obviously not shy twice – seems to be the motto followed by the Israelites. The Israelites were lured into signing a peace treaty with the Gibeonites because they accepted at face value that the Gibeonites were indeed “servants from a distant place”. God specifically forbade the Israelites to make any peace accords with the inhabitants of the promised land (see Deut 7:1-6). The city of Gibeon is about 25 miles from Jericho, hardly “distant land” by anybody’s standard. The Israelites sought no confirmation from the Lord on the claims made by the Gibeonites – the result of the peace treaty signed meant that the Gibeonites were spared from any bloodshed. The consequences of the peace treaty were not felt immediately, but as you and I know, idolatry became prevalent in the Israelites’ lives subsequently.

Joshua, undeniably, is a book of bloodshed and bloody warfares. Even as a Christian who believes the living Word of God, I am icky’fied when I read about the method employed in order for the Israelites to be rid of inhabitants of the promised land for eg. Joshua 10 in relation to the Southern Kings. Or closer to home, look at the fate of Achan and his family – they were stoned and burned. The book of Joshua is not your typical feel good kind of book you read before going to bed at night. If anything, all the fighting put your mind in overdrive mode! However, as I study Joshua, I have come to the realisation that obedience and wisdom in the Lord are paramount importance in order for the Israelites to engage in a successful warfare in order to enter into the promised land.

Bring this forward to thousands of years on and look at the applicability of Joshua in our daily lives. OK, I am not talking about murdering people in order to get your way! I am asking each of you, how often do you consult the Lord in your decision making process. Sometimes, it may be about mundane things – perhaps dealing with staff or work matters in the marketplace. Not much struggles there right, easy-peasy. Move on to life changing type decisions – about relationship, about career change, about marriage, about children, about family, even about church and its ministries. Put your hand upon your heart and be honest – do you actually consult the Lord?

I was doing my quiet time this morning and reading Psalm 37. Verse 7 – “Be still in the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act…”. Read it again – be still, wait patiently, God to act. In that order. It is not - Man Act, be still and wait for God to approve your action. But a lot of times, we justify our actions and seek God’s approval subsequently. We are too caught up in the essence of time. There are far too many management gurus out there who tell us “Life is short – Seize it! Or better still we embrace and live by the saying “Life’s too short”.

You know what? I do agree life is short; we do not know when that day will come when God calls us home. It is precisely for that reason that how we live our lives is so important and it’s so relevant to God.

As I shared in cell last Friday, I am at crossroad in my life with regards to my career. It is not the first time, but perhaps this is the greatest challenge so far that God has placed me in. Am I anxious, am I nervous, as I scared? I have to say all three. But I am comforted at the same time because I know that my prayers are being heard in Heaven and that the Lord will order my steps accordingly. I am reminded by my recent experience in climbing Mt Kinabalu. The last 2 kilometres felt endless and literally what I did was to take baby steps –where my left toes would align to the heel of my right foot and so forth. I saw headlights of people way ahead of me – in the distant Low’s Peak, the highest point of Mt Kinabalu, I glimpsed the lights of those who have already attained their success in reaching the top. I looked down at my feet and simply pressed on. I made it eventually; I took a longer time but I made it. It was breathtaking to be there.

Our success in life is a bit like that. Many times, we look to those who have already made it. We want what they have; we craved for their success; we develop a spirit of envy. Yet, somehow in the chaos of the world we live in, we forget that God’s plan has always been to prosper us. This is done in His time and not ours. Our emphasis in attaining God’s planned success of us is in the process itself – how we live our lives. The end for all of us is the same – we will have success, not defined in material sense, but in God’s sense of an accomplishment of a purpose – a purpose which is driven, guided and led by God Almighty. This is such an important concept to grasp because the counsel you seek has to come from God alone.

I am encouraged by what Ps Vincent shared in the Sunday service yesterday. Not every good offer that comes your way is God’s offer. His point shed light on my situation. The initial package I was offered for a KL position was good. I have since renegotiated the package. What surprised me over the weekend was, not only had the company accepted my revised proposal, but they have also made further enhancement to the bonus scheme plus a monthly allowance – both of which I never requested for. A lot of people may say “Praise the Lord – He is good!”. Some even may quip “What are you waiting for, Ange? Just accept it!”. Trust me, I am tempted but at the back of my mind, Ps 37:7 repeats itself “Be still in the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act”. I cannot and must not ignore His voice.

God intercedes in His time and through His people. I can write a whole book on testimonies just on this topic! His amazing-ness cannot be denied. Pastor Gwen sms’ed me this morning as I was driving to work – “just continue to trust Him with all your heart and know that God will guide you through every decision. Stay close to Him”. When I replied to thank her for her prayers, she sms’ed back with “God is Good. Was praying this morning and the Lord brought you to mind. Didn’t know you are praying for your career. God did say, He’ll open the right door for you…” Up until that point in time, Pastor Gwen did not know about my situation. When I prayed to God this morning, my request to Him was that the right door will be opened. Psalm 37:7 comes to light again. I will be still and wait…patiently.

I don’t know what the future holds - I may accept the KL position or I may venture forth and relocate to Singapore. I just know that with God in the picture, it can only be good. I may not be fully aware of the various circumstances that each of you is going through but a recipe for success would be to put God right in the middle of the consultation process. The leaders and cell members are here to support one another but ultimately the “go ahead” that you seek can only come from God. God was there with Joshua each step of the way – He will be with us throughout our lives. This is the promise from God to you and I.

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• Summary of Joshua 7 – 19
1. Joshua 7 – Achan / Defeat at Ai / Joshua’s distress / God’s instruction on filtering out the culprit / Punishment on Achan and his family
2. Joshua 8 – Israelites defeat Ai / The strength of 30,000 men / God’s strategy in defeating Ai (ambush method , Amorites following the “false pack”) / Pointing of the spear and capturing of Ai / The keeping of the treasures and livestock of Ai by Israelites / Punishment for the King of Ai – impaling / Building of Lord’s Covenant on Mt Ebal
3. Joshua 9 – Kings west Jordan River combined forces to fight Isralites / The deception by Gibeonites / Peace treaty / The roles of Gibeonites as woodcutters and water carriers for Israelites
4. Joshua 10 – Israelites defeat the Southern armies and kills the Southern kings – kings in the cave, impaling of the kings, bodies thrown back into cave / Destroys the Southern towns – assumption here is that the Israelites were able to keep all the treasures of the livestock of these towns
5. Joshua 11 - Israelites defeats Northern armies – again people killed but livestock and treasures were kept for themselves
6. Joshua 12 / 13 - Kings defeated east of Jordan / Division of Land east of Jordan to the 2 ½ tribes – Reuben, Gad and Manasseh / Allotment to Levites – roles as priests and also offerings at the Lord’s altar
7. Joshua 14 – Division of Land west of Jordan / Caleb’s requests for his land – Hebron
8. Joshua 15 – Land given to tribe of Judah / Affirmation of land given to Caleb – Hebron / Towns allotted to Judah
9. Joshua 16 / 17 – Allotment of Land to the descendants of Joseph – Ephraim / Manasseh – unable to occupy towns or drive out Canaanites, force Canaanites to work as slaves
10. Joshua 18 / 19– Shiloh and setting up of the Tabernacle / the allotment of land to the remaining 7 tribes / Joshua’s specific instructions to map out territory and casting of sacred lots / Allotment to Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Napthali, Dan and finally to Joshua

• The results of Achan’s sin:

- Many men died

- Israel’s army came away in fear

Joshua questioned God

- God threatened to withdraw His presence from His people

- Achan and his family were destroyed

Key Point: Uncontrolled temptation will always lead to sin

• Notice how when Israelites gather an army to attack Ai – They never consulted the Lord for guidance!

• The Lord brought victory to the Israelites once the sins were repented. Important to always be in partnership with God in our decision making process. Also noticed, aside from Jericho, the Israelites were able to keep all the plunder, treasures and livestock for themselves

• Joshua 9 – Treaty with the Gibeonites. Lessons to be learned:

<1) Joshua and Israelites believed what the Gibeonites told them – that the Gibeonites were messengers from distant land – Again, they never consulted the Lord on this fact

2) God had specifically told the Israelites not to make any covenants with the people of the land (ie the Promised land) re: Deut 7:1-6, Deut 20:10-18

3) Any covenant made before the Lord must be according to His will – He must approve of it first. Your personal desires must be aligned with God’s purpose for your life!

4) Conditions attached to commitment? Agreement, commitment which is based on untrue information shall nullify the said agreement/agreement. Re: legal agreement in place today

Group discussion: Why did Joshua honour the covenant made with the Gibeonites even though the covenant was made under false pretenses? Do you accept that the covenant was upheld?

• Joshua 10 – The miraculous event of time being stopped for one full day in order for Israelites to successfully eliminate the Southern kings

• Joshua 14 – Caleb’s inheritance

- Caleb approached Joshua before the casting of the sacred lots to claim the inheritance that was entitled to him as a result of his faithfulness at Kardesh Barnea as one of the only two spies (Joshua, being the other one), who gave a true report of the Promised Land.

- Caleb asked for the town of Hebron – because this was place referred to by his fellow spies as “uninhabitable” (re Numbers). He wanted this city because his faith in the Lord 45 years ago remained unchanged

• Joshua 18 – Joshua’s admonishment at the remaining 7 tribes to claim their inheritance. They were procrastinating! The Book of Joshua starts with “Be Bold and Courageous”, God wanted to bless the Israelites with the Promised Land. By not taking charge of God’s calling for your life, you may just miss the boat

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Sharing a passage from the book entitled, “No More Excuses – Be The Man God Made You to Be” authored by Tony Evans that would grasp one’s attention: 

“Abraham offered up Isaac, validating his faith in God. Now that occurred in Genesis Chapter 22, but Abraham was justified by faith back in Genesis Chapter 15. However, it was only after Abraham obeyed God in the sacrifice of his son that his faith was made complete by what he did.” 

In James 2:22, it says, “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” 

Well, this is somewhat crucial to grasp if we were to want our commitment to Christ to result in spiritual victory. We only grow in our faith as we grow in our works. And only when we trust God enough to obey him will we make advancement on the path to victory. 

No doubt, many Christians these days are seeking more faith. Nonetheless, Jesus made it clear that the ‘mustard seed’ sized faith is really all that is needed to do great things. This can be found in Matthew 17:20, “So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief, for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

However, most of us do not need more faith. What we need is a more obedient application of the faith we have. Agree?

In many Christians could be pronounced dead spiritually for all the value that their faith is to them and to the reason of Christ. Day in, day out, they move more or less like spiritual corpses because they just refuse to take what they think in their heads and make it part of what they do in their lives. And for that reason, all of us must therefore rise above this spiritual “zombie–ism” if we are to become men (or women) of commitment.

Well, after all, a committed Christian puts his/ her faith to work.

 

Tags:Faith in God