Saturday, June 30, 2007

Fare thee well



One of my colleagues left yesterday.
I will miss her.
She's stepped out of the boat,
but I know she'll walk on water.


Eternity

To see the world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy:
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise.
(William Blake)



Monday, June 25, 2007

So will I be with You, content, satisfied

One of the greatest lights for Christ returned to Him recently.

Ruth Bell Graham - the wife of Billy Graham, arguably one of the most faithful of God's calling as an evangelist - died on June 14, 2007. I saw the news of her death online and following that, I started looking for news articles of her and also went to the memorial dedicated to her at Billy Graham's website.

When I read the news articles and went through the memorial website, I was very humbled by her faithfulness to God and her submission to His greater plan rather than her own ambitions and goals.

She actually had a close link to Asia. She was born in Qingjiang in the Jiangsu province in China to medical missionaries working at a Presbyterian hospital. As a young girl, she already had a very strong calling to abandon all for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When she was 13, she was sent to a boarding school in Pyongyang in North Korea. Up till her early adult years, she had set her mind and heart on staying single and becoming a missionary in Tibet.

She enrolled in Wheaton College and three years later, she was introduced to "Preacher" or Billy Graham. After much struggling in prayer, she decided to surrender her ambitions and devote her life to Billy Graham's passion for evangelism.

She raised her five children almost single-handedly as her husband was away on extended national and international evangelistic crusades.

In 1952, Billy briefly entertained the possibility of running for US President. Ruth quickly quashed that notion by calling him to say: "I don't think the American people would vote for a divorced president, and if you leave ministry for politics, you will certainly have a divorce on your hands."

She always had a burden for the people of Asia and she encouraged her husband to visit and also accompanied him on his historic visits to China. (Side note: Billy Graham also visited Singapore in the early 1970s for evangelistic crusades and according to some of my older church friends, his rallies were always fully packed and he was a very powerful and anointed servant of God.)




I think the impact of her life would be best described by the ones closest to her:


“My father would not have been what he is today if it wasn’t for my mother. She stood strong for what was biblically correct and accurate. She would help my father prepare his messages, listening with an attentive ear, and if she saw something that wasn’t right or heard something that she felt wasn’t as strong as it could be, she was a voice to strengthen this or eliminate that. Every person needs that kind of input in their life and she was that to my father.”
- Eldest son Franklin Graham



“I don’t believe Mother has adequately been recognized and honored for what she had done; because, without her, Daddy’s ministry would not have been possible.”

“How does one live with one of the world’s most famous men? God began training my mother for this position years ago in China. Her parents exercised a profound effect upon the development of her character, and laid the foundations for who she was. What she witnessed in her family home, she practised for herself—dependence on God in every circumstance, love for His Word, concern for others above self, and an indomitable spirit displayed with a smile.

“Her happiness and fulfillment did not depend on her circumstances. She was a lovely, beautiful and wise woman, because early in life she made Christ her home, her purpose, her center, her confidant, and her vision.”
- Youngest daughter Ruth Graham




“Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team. No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

“I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together. We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.”
- Husband Billy Graham




Proverbs 31:10-31

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

29 "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.




Note: Most of the material above is taken from the memorial package dedicated to Ruth Bell Graham at Billy Graham's website.


Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Malachi 3:9-12

9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the LORD of hosts;
12 And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the LORD of hosts.


Here, the Lord challenges His people. If they bring all their tithes and offerings to Him,
- They will be given so much more back that they will not have enough room to receive all their blessings.
- Their fields or crops will not be destroyed by Satan.
- All the nations will see that they are blessed.
- Their land will be a delightful one.

What a powerful promise from God for those who always feel that they don't have enough to fulfil even that 10% tithe for God, or who always fall short whenever their pay cheque comes in!

God is saying that if we trust him with our 10% or more, He will deliver that 90% and much much more. As well, when people see us, they will be amazed because they know that God's hand is upon our resources and our lives.

One pastor said during his sermon that if we keep holding all of God's blessings in our hands without passing them on to others and blessing others, then we will always be limited to the blessings in our hands.

But if we keep passing them on to others, then we will always have empty hands ready to receive the next deluge of God's blessings. That is a visual picture that has stuck with me ever since, and that has heavily influenced the way I carry out my stewardship of everything that God has entrusted me with in my life.

And I would definitely challenge anyone to take up God at His Word. He or she shouldn't be even slightly surprised when the blessings flood in because God has said it and He will honour His Word. *smile*


References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible





Malachi 3:7-8

7 Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ But you said,

‘ In what way shall we return?’

8 “ Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,

‘ In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.


The Lord tells the priests and the Jews that they have strayed from the tasks and responsibilities laid upon by God and have not bothered to keep them. Yet, He is gracious and tells them that if they turn back to Him, He will return to them.

But the people seek to challenge God on His judgment against them. They demand of God the ways in which they have "robbed" Him.

His reply is swift and cutting --- through tithes and offerings.

Verse 8 is a most frequently cited supporting verse for tithing. Here, the link is clear. When we do not tithe, we are robbing God. When we do not give offerings, we are robbing God.

Matthew Henry drew an even broader perspective of how we are robbing God. Some would think that this verse applies only to our money, but we should extend it to include everything in our relationship with God:

- Are we robbing God of our service to Him?
- Are we robbing God of our financial offerings and tithes to Him?
- Are we robbing God of our time spent communing with Him?
- Are we robbing God of our gifts and abilities that should be channelled for His glory and for His use?
- Are we robbing God of our evangelistic abilities to draw people closer to Him?
- Are we robbing God of our compassion for others that they will see Him in us?
- Are we robbing God of our ministry for His kingdom?
- Are we robbing God of our praise and worship for Him?
- Are we robbing God of our passion for His word?
- Are we robbing God of our passion for Him alone?


Sometimes, when push comes to shove, I find it all too easy to skip that quiet time and play my Nintendo Brain Age game, forget about prayer and communion with God and read a book or watch a DVD, use my personal bible study time to go out with friends, avoid talking about Jesus with friends and colleagues because that always introduces some tension into the conversations and instead talk about mundane stuff such as work and TV shows, criticise and show contempt for certain people because of their bad behaviour instead of trying to understand why they act like that and figure out ways to help them and be humbled by the truth that God also died for them, and also blow hot and cold for God when consistency and discipline are the keys to a fulfilling closeness with Him.

I haven't got all the answers yet and I should be getting off my butt more for Christ, but I thank God that He is merciful and that He is willing to return to us when we repent and return to Him. He is always waiting for us with His embrace, always the One standing by waiting for us to open our hearts to Him. But we shouldn't take His love, mercy and patience for granted.

Amen.



References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible

2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible


Building a better world

One of the greatest joys of my life is when I receive a letter, a card or a progress report from the four kids whom I am sponsoring through World Vision.

I'm happy when I see their faces and they look fatter, cleaner, healthier and taller than they had looked previously.

Their photographs always crack me up because they have obviously been told to stand rimrod straight with hands by the side, stare straight into the camera and have a serious and studied look. Four different kids in four different Asian countries (Mongolia, Myanmar, The Philippines and Sri Lanka) but invariably they adopt the same kind of pose.

I look at their handwriting and marvel at how one is so different from another, and check their grades and gape at how one kid is excelling in mathematics and another in English and yet another in sports.

I read what they write and am gratified to know that they all want to be teachers in future.

The cost of sponsoring each kid comes up to S$45 a month. I view it as money well-spent when I consider that because of a sponsorship, each kid is able to gain a better headstart in life.

I get to choose the region in which the kid is living, and I have always chosen Asia because I think that there are millions of kids in this region who need just that little bit of help early enough in life to enable them to get a decent education so that they can improve their lives and help their families get out of the poverty trap.

I want each kid to have time for study and time for play. I want each kid to be able to dream about what they want to be when they grow up, and to have the confidence to work towards that. I want to give each kid one of the most powerful driving forces in life - hope - because someone - a total stranger - has cared about him or her to help him or her along in life.

I believe firmly that those who can, should make a positive difference in the world.


1 John 3:16-18
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.