I'm blessed...

Because...

1. I know you Lord and that's my greatest blessing. Help me to remember that always.
2. I am saved by faith and grace, by Your blood. Amen!
3. I am healthy and able. Praise God!
4. I have the means to afford basic necessities in life, and even the very Internet access which is needed to post this blog.
5. I have crazy but great friends around me. I love you guys!

Count your blessings, and praise God for them!
Have a blessed week!

By faith..

What's faith?
Faith, to me is not just trusting, but rather believing and surrendering our all to God. Faith is accepting God as the center of our lives and placing everything that we have into his hands. Faith can be expressed as that toward future things (what we hope for) or that toward invisible things ( what we cannot see). When we are certain and completely believe without a shred of doubt that God is in control of these areas, that's faith.

When we believe that this universe is created at God's command, is it not faith? By the same faith, what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
When we carry out what God orders us to do despite the difficulty or impossibility (Noah's ark), is it not faith? By the same faith, what seemed impossible is made possible.
When we believe, in our ignorance, every word of the Bible and accept it as the truth and word of God, is it not faith? By the same faith, ideas are made truths.

Faith requires belief in that which we cannot see - God's provisions and promises for us. An inner attitude does sufficiently demonstrate faith though, for faith comes with obedience. And obedience, in turn, requires an action. Thus, faith is proved through our obedience to God. "Actions speak louder than words"
And faith comes with a price as well, though the cost may vary in significance.

A person that I've always been in awe of is Abraham. His life experience is witnessed in the Bible and truly, we can very much relate to our own lives...

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even thought he did not know where he was going. He was like a stranger in a foreign country. A covenant was made between God and Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, as countless as the sand on the seashore. He believed. He had faith.
And by faith Abraham, even though we was past age and Sarah herself was barren, was enabled to become a father.

Where lies the act, then?

When Abraham was asked to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice to God, he believed that God was in control and that He had a greater purpose for him in fulfilling the covenant made. He obeyed. Is it not touching? Abraham is the only man, to my knowledge, who was put to the test of having to sacrifice his one and only son. He is the only man who could relate to what God went through in sacrificing Christ for mankind. And Abraham with his amazing, unshakable faith, obeyed without a moment of hesitance. The price of his faith? His son Isaac, of course. Yes, he did not die in the end, but at times, the cost of a cause need not be in actual, physical, or material form - Abraham was fully conscious that his son's life was at stake and yet, he obeyed willingly. And that is all that MATTERS. That is what makes a difference to the world, to our relationship with God. Our faith.

Of course, not all of us go through what Abraham or Paul or any saint had undergone. Some of us are just the man in the street, the average person living a simple life. However, faith is what makes up our lives. Faith is what drives the wheels of the life-train we are riding. Without faith, we live without purpose, without hope.

And we can demonstrate faith through the simple things we do... Praying and believing that God can stop the rain for us, and if to no avail, believing that He has other plans for us. In the face of setbacks, by faith, we take a positive attitude toward God's providence for us and move on. When we pray, we must also have faith in God, in His timing. If we pray for strength, He may not give us physical or mental strength directly, but place us in situations where we can develop that which we have asked for. If we ask to have the courage to share the Gospel, He may place certain friends around us and give us a chance to do so. If we ask to become a better, kinder person, He may somehow allow us to meet, perhaps, an old lady who needs help crossing the road or carrying heavy, cumbersome shopping bags...

Faith requires an action. And this action can be that simple and made possible by God in our everyday lives. God gives us the chance, the road for us to walk. What matters ultimately is our decision and whether we manage to see and grasp that chance. So grab every opportunity that you see and don't let it slip through your hands like grain!!!

In the end, faith comes with acceptance. Even for non-Christians, acceptance is a vital aspect of the way we should live our lives. Accept that certain things are beyond our control, and for us Christians, accept that everything is under God's control. If we keep trying to hold onto our lives and run our lives as we deem fit, then all the more we will lose it. Accept, in times of difficulty and trials, that God has a greater purpose for us, perhaps He wants us to become a better person. Accept, and have faith.

Live and let live.

Live and let God run our lives.

Paul the Apostle

"To live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

Whoa.

I'm awe-stricken.

Not by the idea that you literally have to die in order to gain, but I'm amazed by the faith and love for God that Paul has as he made this statement. For to him, he would rather live to spread the word of God and fulfill the mission that God has assigned him than to take easy way out and give up. And "giving up" for him at that moment in time was to, honestly, die.

What?! Yes, it's paradoxical, is it not? Who on earth would choose death over life if given the option? The answer is nonsensically obvious. However, if we look into the life of Paul as God's worker then we may look at things from a different perspective.

As you can see his journey as he travels from Cyprus to Greece to Crete to Rome to Galatia to Thessaloniki, etc, he carried with him not a heavy obligation to God but his faith and love for Him. Throughout his mission, he was heavily persecuted but he was not ashamed of being persecuted nor imprisoned.

At Lystra, Paul was stoned. (Acts 14:19-20)

At Philippi, Paul was imprisoned. (Acts 16:25-34)

At Jerusalem and Rome, Paul was seized by a mob and trialed.

His life clearly demonstrates how powerful God is in our lives. Time and time again, he was rescued by the grace of God; he was obedient to the point of death. In face of all these persecutions, he was suffering so much and yet, when death seemed the easier option over life, he chose God, still. His love for God and his brothers and sisters made that commitment possible.

Can you make the same choice if you were in his shoes? Perhaps. However, we can never experience the sufferings Paul underwent. A fraction, maybe.

But what we can learn from the way he faced his trials and persecutions in his life is a great deal.

In the face of persecutions and sufferings in our lives, we can :

1. Become a man of prayer.

Prayer, other than the Bible, is the most direct form of communication with God. It's our source of strength, solace and peace. His admonition to the church at Ephesus was, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18). It is clear that Paul's instructing and advising others to never stop praying. In Acts 16:25, we also learn that in time of trying circumstances we can always direct our troubles to God just as Paul and Silas did when they were imprisoned. And without fail, we will eventually overcome.

2. Become a stronger and more spiritual person.

1 Corinthians 3:
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

From this we see that Paul was rebuking the Corinthians for their spiritual immaturity. In his eyes, they were still, spiritually speaking, babies, unable to receive the meat of God's word, and had to feed on the milk of God's word, rather than the meat.

We can - and should - grow in spirit and in faith, through the trials and tests that God has set in our lives. Is this not the ultimate, or rather a life-long - goal of being a Christian? Thanks be to God!

3. Become a man of self-sacrifice and self-control.

This idea can be seen 1 Corinthians 9. In verse 26-27 : Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, 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.

Here Paul is speaking the importance of giving not a part of us or a small portion of our time but our whole body and spirit to God, for we wholly belong to Him.

In the face of suffering we must learn to rely on His strength, be still and self-controlled and know that He is God.

Even amidst our sufferings, we can show Christ-likeness by continuing to love and help our fellow brothers and sisters. This is the true spirit of Christ.

4. Become a man unashamed of the Gospel but one who demonstrates our love for God through preaching it.

Romans 1:16 states, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Ephesians 6:19-20 : Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

I'm certain that today, many of us tend to have difficulty or are, to a certain extent, embarrassed to share the Gospel to our friends. We must pray for the courage that Paul had in his preaching of the Gospel. For what we are preaching - the Gospel - is the truth.

Is the truth so hard to tell?

4. Become a man who believe in and preach the reality of the kingdom of God.

Paul described the church as the body of Christ to illustrate the important relationship that exists between Christ and the church, as well as, each member of the church to one another (Ephesians 1:22-23). We are members of the body and of one another (1 Corinthians 12:27; Rom. 12:5). Paul described the church or the kingdom as "the household of God" (1 Tim. 3:15). Such a metaphor emphasizes the family relationship each one enjoys being in Christ. Paul also described the church or the kingdom as the temple of God (Eph. 2:19-22).

5. Become a man of wisdom.

Wisdom is acquired by means of a knowledge of God's word, coupled with a faithful living of it day by day. This helped to produce a man like Paul, who was wise in the work of preaching the gospel through out the ancient Near East. The experiences of being stoned at Lystra, of being put in prison in Philippi, of facing the mob in Jerusalem, and countless other occasions, where the gospel was met with opposition, were rich experiences. As terrible as these experiences were, they produced wisdom upon the part of all, who faithfully endured them for Christ and the gospel's sake.

With wisdom - knowledge of God - can we grow in spirit and faith.

6. Become a man of Christ.

Through our sufferings we are able to identify with Jesus Christ. John 15:20 : If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

Through our trials, be it physical pain or emotional battles, etc, we are able to share a bond that connects man and Christ. For Jesus suffered and endured the frailties and limitations of being human while living in a sinful world despite being the Son of God. But because Jesus lived in our world and now lives within believers - us - he shares the pains, sorrows and frustrations we feel. (Hebrews 4:15) He joins with us in suffering and - even more encouragingly - he also offers us comfort

2 Corinthians 1:5 beautifully demonstrates this, "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."
WOW?!! Amen to that?! Christ's comfort can come in various and even tangible, practical ways... His comfort may come in physical presence of our friends, families, etc, or spiritual strength that overpowers us, etc. One thing that we can be assured of is that we need not walk it alone. Liverpool's slogan : You are not alone. Yes!!! Christ is with us, always, no doubt.

7. Become a man of obedience.

Hebrews 5:8 puts this clearly : Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

Through suffering, Jesus explained obedience in human terms. Suffering is a necessary price of obedience, fulfilling the will of God. Paul, as Jesus was, was obedient to the point of death. And obedience to God comes with the price of persecution, trial and sufferings. But in so doing, we are able to become a spiritually stronger person! Is the reward for obedience not worth the cost?

And rest assured that Christ will ALWAYS be with us to give us comfort and His spirit to guide us.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" Oh Lord, what more can we ask of you? For in our weaknesses, his glory and power are manifested.

His grace is more than enough for us.

More than sufficient.

His grace...

Amen.

Pencil Maker

The Pencil Parable

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil,
"..before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

1. You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.

2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

3. You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.(erasor)

4. The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

5. On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write. You must always leave a clear, legible mark no matter how difficult the situation.
The pencil understood, promising to remember, and went into the box fully understanding its Maker's purpose.

-End-

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

1.You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. Let him be the sole purpose in your life, let him be in total control of your life. Let others learn from the many gifts you possess.

2.You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going various troubles, problems and difficulties in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger, better person. Always remember that God will always be with you, through any form of difficulty, regardless the pain and suffering you're going through, bear in mind that God has promised never to leave you. Always look at your difficulties from a higher perspective, from His perspective, and you will find gladness and comfort.

3.You will be able to correct mistakes you might make or grow through them. To err is human. Mistakes are inevitable in life. Nobody is made perfect. But in our weaknesses, God's glory is manifested. He is most real and present and powerful when we are weakest. Remember that God has promised us His spirit. He is always with us.

4.The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside. Beauty is skin deep. We are judged by our faith, and not by our deeds nor our exteriors.(Yes Han, don't be a narcissist.) And we are all made in His image, in His godliness. We have both light and darkness inside, but what matters is the path which we take in life.


5.On every surface that you walk, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to serve God in everything. We are all made special and unique, each blessed with a gift from God. Use these gifts and overcome your weaknesses, and you'll become a better person. Don't follow in the footsteps of the man who dug his talents in the ground (parable of the talents) and did not make use of the gifts God gave us.

We are all pencils of God. We are uniquely made by Him for a purpose. Don't belittle the significance of your existence! If you think you are not good in your studies, or you do not play well in any kind of sports, or you are not sociable, you do not have any friend, or you do not have any kind of influence in anyone's life, or you just simply think that you are a good-for-nothing or think that life is meaningless and purposeless.. Realise that God is real. And we are all instruments of God to be testimonies in each other's lives. We are made for a purpose. And this purpose is kept alive by our faith. And so in Him can our purpose of living can be found.

We are made to make a difference.

A difference in the lives of those around us. A little comfort or few words of encouragement to a friend makes that difference.

Believe.

I'm BACK!

Oh my. It's been ages since I've last blogged. I admit I have not been regularly doing my QT regularly as I ought to amidst the O levels. Exam is not an excuse. The little of our time that we give to God when we are most busiest is the most pleasing and worthy gift to Him.

O levels are done in a week's time!!! RARRRRRRRRRRRR!! I honestly can't WAIT any longer!! There's just so much on my agenda and a timetable has already been set for things I plan to do during the holidays.

Thus far, the exams have been beyond my expectation. Yes. Neither too hard nor too easy, for some of you who's already confused. Rather, I have become much closer, thankfully, to God through my preparations and the real test itself. Prayer. Reliance. Spirituality. Faith. Letting go. These have grown stronger and become much real through this hurdle. Amen to that! Most importantly, I've learned to place my grades, my time, my family, my life, my all in His hands.

Grace. Undeserving love, that is. Speechless. God has struck me speechless by His grace and providence for me. I have seen so much of His grace for my friends as well. For some who only studied a chapter for humanities, that chapter was eventually tested for the real exam. Yes G-man, that's none other than you. -.-

I have become closer to my friends by helping them in various ways - giving comfort, help in studies, advice, mental support and most importantly prayer.

I have witnessed many things through Os as well. Desperateness. Weakness. For some, confidence and self-sufficiency. For those who showed the former, I am glad because that's what humans are - and ought to be. For those who showed the latter, it's time to consider a greater force that is exists since the beginning of time and still is real. God should be our sole source of strength and energy in life. Nothing more. Nothing less. Before Him we are empty. With his spirit should we be filled.

Through this journey, I've been encouraged and comforted in many ways also. A friend of mine showed me how powerful God is in her life. She taught me the true godliness and piousness that a Christian should demonstrate in life, through her ups and downs during Os. She taught me never to question God's plan but to trust and wait for Him; for He is never late nor early, but He is always on time. Most importantly, she taught me not to preach but to carry out that which I urge others to.

Another friend of mine taught me not to leave my Bible covered in dust, not to leave it in the shelf like any other ordinary book. He's also grown to show more responsibility and I'm gladful for that as well. More importantly he has become less cocky. HA! Hint, hint. Yes,all that we achieve is not by our own human effort but by His grace alone, no matter how big or small that achievement is.

Another friend of mine... I am really grateful to God for my all friends. They have each impacted my life in a unique way. How is 2010 going to be when we part in time to come? I hope that we continue to be forces in each other lives to learn from and that by which we may grow in spirit and in truth.

For those who are feeling discomforted or discouraged by your progress for Os, do not be! There's always "that guy up there" who cares for you and always wants the best for you. He is real. He is there. He will always be. He is not just an angel. He is not just a friend. He is our heavenly father who was, is, and always be.

Work hard, fellow students. And rely. And contentment is yours. Nothing more will you wish for, trust me.


To Os, to the future, to the one hope we all live for...

To 6 points...

To life everlasting.