The truth of the Matter

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails

This verse says it all and sometimes we need to remember the truth behind God word.

May you and I learn to find and comprehend what is God's purpose for our lives.

blessngs,

M.

"But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God." (Isaiah 49:4)

Rock of Ages

Isaiah 26:4
“Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.”

We are probably only at one of the many low points of a financial downturn. Everyday, I watch the stock market indices slide down and this often is translated into my financial investments dropping in dollar value. I'm doing nothing yet, just watching, waiting and wondering when the job market becomes spooked. Oh how I'm not looking forward to the poor market condition in the near future.

It's scary when markets go into freefall and the only thing that seems to be certain is this feeling that we are not even reaching the worst pont yet. However, all financial planning people wil tell you that if you have lotsa cash and time and can afford to invest during this downturn, when/should the economy pick up, you'll make a huge gain. That truth is of course conditional upon the fact that things do go upand you have the benefit of time.

Time makes all seasonal ups and downs of our life seem like a minor skip or hiccup. Afterall, if we look back at our past and remenice about the most sad days, it really does not seem to be as sad as how we felt that the world was coming to an end, then.

But even time will someday come to an end. The only thing amidst all turmoil and uncertainties is the fact that God remains God and His character and provisions are constant.

Today and these coming months, may you and I learnt to look less at the issues and problems which surround us. We must really learn to encounter life with a perspective that we can never place our trust and hope in anything around us. God and God alone is the stable, solid rock which we can trust.

blessings,
M.

"He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal." (Habakuk 3:6)

Depending on Him

Hebrews 11:6 (Living Bible)
You can never please God without faith, without depending on him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely look for him.

I feel that my life is always full of challenging situations as I am always placed in situations which I don't like but can't seem to easily get out of. Especially when I look around my workplace and see colleagues get a newer, better job so easily whereas, my attempts come to no avail. This would then result in many one-way, one-sided conversations with God which often go "why, why why...?".

Thankfully there are always multiple reminders that life comprises much more than what I desires and as I surrend my struggles, everything becomes much brighter.

On Sunday, when this version of Hebrews was shared, the word "depending on Him" leaped at me like an Eureka moment. Our life is often not a bed of roses because these are there to make us learn to depend on God. I'm not talking about a sadistic god who forces us to go through challenges and intentionally does it to makes the life of Christian miserable.

But somehow, I can comprehend how these rocky paths of my life is meant to teach me to depend on God and to make me work out my salvation. That is really what believing in Christ is all about - Faith that God takes care of everything. The warnings in Deuteronomy 8:10 - 14 below explains why God shouldn't give us everything we think we should get.

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God"

Prosperity, rather than rigors of life, makes it easier for any of us to put God behind us. Sure, the life of a Christian is blessed and we have a heavenly father who has amazing richness for us to claim and live. We're not just meant to live mediocre and financially deprived lives, but ironically, success makes it harder to depend on the Lord.

The Israelites did prove to be less faithful after they moved into the Promised Land. Again and again they turned their hearts to other gods. Life is always filled with distractions that squeeze and charm us away from God.

Like you, I too desire success in this life. Sure it is a temporal life, but every hour, every week, every month that passes by for a lifetime of say 70 years seems to be so painfully long. However, in perspective of an eternity which our soul will spend someday, this 70 years is a tiny fraction of time which we need to invest to sercure our eternity. Therefore, may you and I spend this human life staying grounded, humbled and constantly depending on God for every big and small thing that comes our way.

I rather we enter heaven having lived a challenging life and never getting what we want, than to have a smooth life getting whatever we want and then forgotting about God in our lives.

blessings,
M.

"Beware of the temptation that success brings. There is grave danger in getting what we want." Philip Yancy

The Lord gave, blessed be the name of the Lord

Job 1:21
the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

It has been raining for the past week. Not that the rain is aweful, but it results in some inconveniences in programmes and this was the 1 week holiday which we would be running a 2 day 1 night Discovery Rangers Training Camp (DTC) for the boys and girls aged 8 to 10 years old.

Throughout the week, rain fell. Some days it was in the day, other times at night. Amazingly, on friday as the DTC was to start, the rain which fell throughout thursday night stopped by 10am of friday.

As I worked and gazed out the window throughout the day, I was absolutely amazed by the sunny weather which was atypical of the past 2 weeks. In fact, the rain never came and the camp was blessed with sunshine and cool night for all outdoor programmes and campfire to go on.

Only just 1 hour ago, at 8pm did the rain start coming back and now it's all back to the same wet weather phenomenal which we have been having for the past week.

The very fact that the camp enjoyed such great weather is truely a blessing from God and I give Him thanks for looking after His little Discovery Ranger boys and girls.

Thank you Jesus!
M.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)

Dead Dreams Restored

Isaiah 26:19

But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.

I attended the youth service with the living springs ER on 16 Aug and this was the verse and topic shared. One of the activities which we did was to write down the dreams and aspirations which we had when we were young. It was refreshing to rethink what I wanted to be when I was young and review it.

Sadly, the few adults who were present realised that over 50% of our dreams never materialised. Yes some were hilarious to review because they were idealistic dreams common to children but in adult years, most of us would never want to do such a job. Examples include a fireman, road-sweeper or nurse.

We were given some time to review our list and as I reviewed mine, I realised that some dreams were indirectly fulfilled and often they were used to glorify God. When I was young, I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted many school holidays to play and enjoy. However, as I did my part-time teaching, I realised that teaching in school was never my cup of tea. But I did end up fulfilling that dream because I joined the teaching ministry in church. That to me was a lot more rewarding that I ever expected, except that I don't enjoy school holidays.

What about you? what innocent dreams did you aspire to have or would still like to have? Life comprises more than just the current realities. We need visions and dreams to move ahead in life. Surely, life in Christ comprises of more possibilities and opportunities to extend our capacity and eventually lead towards God being glorified.

Today, won't you do like what I did. Write and review your dreams because that which is honest, true and worthy, God can restore.

blessings,
M.

For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. (Ecclesiastes 5:7)

Grace

Titus 2:11-12
"For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men,instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world."

Many professing Christians today utterly ignore the biblical truth that grace "instruct us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age". Instead, they live as if grace were a supernatural "Get Out of Jail Free" ticket with no strings attached, a general leniency and self-awarded immunity from what we should be living morally. It is really an attitude of complacency which have taken root in us, especially if we have sat in the pews of church for years and yet lived as if Christ was never going to come back in our life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer a German Lutheran pastor and Nazi resister spoke powerfully against the secularization of the church during the Nazi Regime"

"Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure the remission of sins. The Church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. "All for sin could not atone." The world goes on in the same old way, and we are still sinners "even in the best life" as Luther said. Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world's standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin" - Quoted from The Cost of Discipleship [New York: Collier, 1959], 45-46).

Summary of the quote above is a call for us to humbly understand that the church cannot afford to live as the world does. Someone died to redeem us from our sinful lives and have us the gift of eternal life! Therefore we who call ourselves Christians should live 'fearfully' to meet the standards of God, and not live lives like a non-believer.

We live each day in undeserving grace. It was the loving choice, plan and power of God though and by His son Jesus that we can someday go to heaven. This should keep us humble and make us grateful to learn of him. We did nothing to deserve it. Oh that you and I can start to understand His love, His power, His choice, His patience and the cost to sacrifice His Son just so you and I have hope.

blessings,
M.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Death

Ecclesiastes 7:2
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

Today while lunching with 2 colleagues we ended up talking about death and I started sharing with them my ideal dying age if I was single and if I was married, much to their horror/amazement. Despite my justification and answering all their queries of why I only wanted to die by the ages, they could not reconcile my idealogy and concluded I was extremely cukoo.

Death is inevitable, the only question is how and when. It's interesting that Ecclesiastes professes that we should keep the notion of death closely to heart. Why? I realise that if we comprehend that our lives are delicate and transient, it would make us live life fully, treasure what is important and discard the petty things.

William Wallace says "Every man dies, not every man really lives". What time of life are you living for today? Are you bogged down with issues that really don't matter in the long term? Are you living like Paul did with eternity in mind as he told the church of Galatia: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."Importantly, should you pass away anytime in the next few weeks or months would you recognise that the life you had lived, no matter how short, was well lived?

Someday we will die, it could be the near future, or many years ahead. May you be able to answer to God and man that our lives have been purposeful and of value to all.

blessings,
M.

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" (Ps. 139:16).