Giving thanks...

...in all circumstances

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Reflections on 2012

January

"Faith is not an effort, a striving, a ceaseless seeking, 

as in so many earnest souls suppose, 

but rather a letting go, an abandonment, 

an abiding rest in God that nothing, 

not even the soul's shortcomings, can disturb."

- Arthur Benoni Evans

February

A Benedictine blessing

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen. 

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen. 

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection,starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen. 

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

March

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But...the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” 

― Martin Luther King Jr.

April

A.W.Tozer

The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone.

The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way.

The man [or woman] who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over-serious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens.

He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.

It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else.

May

Stop, Breathe, Notice, Reflect and Respond.

June

Felt very ministered at today's worship in church. Our worship pastor was back after a long break, and clearly her love for God has not diminished. Anointed and just so in love with Jesus. And she was so right to say that the presence of the Lord was so strong and God was there asking us to return to Him and to draw closer to Him. Lord, let today and whatever You wish to deposit in me be not a fleeting moment but a loving moment etched in Your timeline of eternity. Let me surrender fully to Your Refiner's fire so that there is purity of heart and all other things, like dross, is burnt away; so that others will see less of me and more and more of the Christ who is in me. 

July

If one goes looking for acceptance, recognition and fulfillment from people or things in this world, there is always the possibility of disappointment followed by bitterness and perhaps unforgiveness and a feeling that we were denied something or not given credit sufficiently. And we lose sight of what God regards as important. If we turn our eyes towards Jesus and rest in Him, then there is true contentment and joy because He is the giver of all things. All of us cannot do everything but we can each do something for God, and that is what the global church/fellowship of God is all about. The humility to remember that we are all a small part of God's tapestry and we do not see the full piece that God is weaving. It is interesting in Matthew 24 and 25 that a servant of God is "good, wise and faithful". 

August

Where hope grows miracles blossom

September

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow. 

- Dreams, Langston Hughes

October

The past two weeks have been quite eventful for me. I've learnt how transient life can be. I've learnt that there is a time, place and space for us but that beyond a certain point, God's sovereignty resides. I've learnt the poverty of speech and the richness of silence. I've learnt that there will always be more questions than answers. I've learnt that even as we hope for the best, we also have to be prepared for the worst. I've learnt how thinly life hangs on us. I've learnt that sometimes, we have to step up not only because we want to but also because we should. I've learnt how powerful the testimony of Christian fellowship can be. I've learnt that one can get too exhausted very quickly and that one needs to rest. I've learnt that even in the darkest of dark times God is there, even though the outcome was not what we had desired or prayed fervently for. When I reflected on all this tonight, I was reminded of the hymn "It is well with my soul". I went online to look for the story behind the hymn, and it led me to a man and his wife whose trust in the Lord was unwavering and steadfast in the face of personal tragedy. I pray that God will give me the faith that can enable me to sing and declare the words of that beautiful hymn in all circumstances: 

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

 When sorrows like sea billows roll; 

 Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 

 It is well, it is well with my soul. 

November

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

- Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

December

What is to give light must endure burning.

- Viktor E. Frankl

Salt and light

Man's search for meaning.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Words that hurt....

And words that heal. What am I speaking daily?

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Three key things...

...that God requires of us.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Speaking truth...

...and blessing others through our words.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

A cry for deliverance

Jesus delivers us from all our fears.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Healing of our land

The necessary posture towards God.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Glory of the Lord

Can the glory of the Lord ever depart from a church?

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Our help and our shield

Jesus. An ever-present help in times of need.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Resting in Christ

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
- Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Ching Cheong on his faith

Singapore Writers' Festival - Ching Cheong - My Thousand Day Ordeal - A Spiritual Journey

Coming from an earlier one-hour Mandarin session, Ching Cheong looked understandably tired. He spoke for about 15 minutes before he opened the floor for questions. I was actually expecting him to talk only about his prison ordeal and his observations about China. He had just recently published a book on his 1,000-day ordeal in a Chinese prison. However, I was gobsmacked when his answers to questions from the audience, combined, became a testimony about how he came to believe in Christ when he was in prison. And what a powerful testimony it was.

He shared about how he was so dispirited that he contemplated suicide when he was in prison, and how the Bible was a source of spiritual strength that helped him through his darkest moments. Initially, he was reading Buddhist and Taoist books. Buddhism, he said, taught emptiness. If one can empty himself mentally and physically, then no one can hurt him. Taoist doctrines talked about how misfortunes and fortunes were inter-related. He emphasised that both Buddhist and Taoist teachings were good, but they did not help him with his deep-rooted hatred and thoughts of revenge.

The Bible, he said, helped him deal with hatred and revenge because it talked about love and forgiveness. By reading the Bible, he came to realise that if he did not embrace love and forgiveness, his mind would still be imprisoned even if he walked out of prison a free man. When he read the Bible, it moved him to tears. He did not understand why he cried but his tears came very naturally. This was something that he had not felt or experienced when he was reading the Buddhist and Taoist teachings. He was also moved to say his first prayer to God, in which he prayed that God would give him the strength to continue as a patriot and to fight for the best interests of China. The Book of Psalms, in particular, ministered to him tremendously because he could identify with a lot of what was in the book.

He spoke of how the Bible empowered him and nourished him spiritually in an environment, where the basic principle was dehumanisation. For example, prisoners had to squat before they were allowed to speak to the wardens. They also had to squat for roll call seven times a day. At meal time, they had to squat in a circle in the open with two containers of food in the centre. Everyone had to snatch and fight to get his portion from the two containers. He asked the audience: “Doesn't this remind you of how dogs are treated?”

Every aspect of the prison life generated negative emotions in him. Faced with such things day in day out, he suffered a downward spiral of his spirit and wanted to commit suicide. After he started reading the Bible, he prayed to God to grant him a joyous heart so he can face the day with a smile and the contempt around him with humility, as well as to nourish his spiritual power so he could survive his time in prison. And God did.

Q: How did he get access to the Bible?

A: He was in what was considered a national “civilised” jail and accorded preferential treatment because the Hong Kong people took up his cause, and his case attracted the attention of the West. So he was given books when he asked for them. Interestingly, when the prison authorities gave him the Bible, he had to agree to read the Bible on his own and not attempt to spread the gospel or tell other inmates about the Bible. Which he did. He also mentioned that if the conditions were so dehumanising in a “civilised” prison, he could scarcely imagine how much worse they would be in a normal prison. While in prison, he could not say anything to anyone about Christ. But he is now free to testify of God's grace and love. Amen.

Q: Why did he want to write the book?

A: He wanted to write the book to thank the Hong Kong people. When he got out of prison, he asked his wife for a list of the people who have helped him gain his freedom. His wife said that he would not be able to thank them all even if he were to spend his lifetime on that. He also wanted to write the book as an encouragement to people in a similar situation, people who were in the depths of despair, or people who were dispirited.

PS: Before he started his session, he thanked his employer (The Straits Times) and the editor during that time (Leslie Fong) for their tremendous help and support to him and his family when he was in prison.

PPS: Along with two other colleagues, I queued up to get his signature on the English and Chinese versions of his book. He signed the English book using his Engish name, and signed the Chinese book using his Chinese name. I told him that his testimony encouraged me a lot. He smiled.

Background on Ching Cheong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Cheong

It is well with my soul

The past two weeks have been quite eventful for me. I've learnt how transient life can be and how in a few hours, someone's life can be changed drastically by a massive heart attack that would also change other people's and his family's lives forever. 

I've learnt that there is a time, place and space for us but that beyond a certain point, God's sovereignty resides. I've seen a mother being brave even when her only son was fighting for his life, and a dear friend praying hard for her boyfriend to pull through. And I've had to respond to her question: "What will I do if he dies?".

I've learnt the poverty of speech and the richness of silence. I've learnt that there will always be more questions than answers. I've learnt that even as we hope for the best, we also have to be prepared for the worst. I've learnt how thinly life hangs on us. 

I've learnt that sometimes, we have to step up not only because we want to but also because we should. I've learnt how powerful the testimony of Christian fellowship can be. I've learnt that one can get too exhausted very quickly and that one needs to rest. I've learnt that even in the darkest of dark times God is there, even though the outcome was not what we had desired or prayed fervently for. 

When I reflected on all this tonight, I was reminded of the hymn "It is well with my soul". I went online to look for the story behind the hymn, and it led me to a man and his wife whose trust in the Lord was unwavering and steadfast in the face of personal tragedy. 

I pray that God will give me the faith that can enable me to sing and declare the words of that beautiful hymn in all circumstances:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way, 
When sorrows like sea billows roll; 
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Requiem

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Desert Song - Hillsong

There is no God like you

O Lord, God of Israel

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Life everlasting

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
- John 10:10

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Living life fully...

...for God.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Our hope is in the Lord our God

Psalm 146

English Standard Version (ESV)

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

146 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³ Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴ When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
⁷     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
⁸     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

What does it mean to be blessed

When God sees us in Jesus.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

True riches

Don't marry God for His money.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Be strong

Take courage.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Behold, I am with you

I was reading some bible verses in the morning on my way to work. Somehow, these words stuck in my mind - the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. I thought to myself whether this means that the glory of the Lord should not be presumed to always fill the house of God, and under what situations would the glory of the Lord depart from the house of God. For some reason, these words jumped at me. I am probably to meditate on them over the next few days. As a start, I will check the Bible for instances when the glory of the Lord departed and what led to that.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

No other love competes

And I serve only You.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

I have a Maker

He knows my name.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Are you on the lookout?

Life is full of unexpected encounters. Had late lunch and tea with a friend, and bumped into another former colleague. Took the MRT home and helped an elderly lady who works for the Health Promotion Board find her way to Dhoby Ghaut station. In return, she gave me this book on "My journey to better health", which was part of a health-care campaign going on at Marina Bay Sands. How fun, how lovely and how real.

Making a difference

Strength and resilience

Long life is found in increasing four elements of resilience - physical, mental, emotional and social. So if you spend time today doing something that makes you happy, or that gets you physically active, or puts you in touch with someone you care about, or even tackle a tiny challenge, you will boost your resilience and live longer.

A deep longing

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

A different fruit

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Hold on to dreams

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Elmore Leonard's 10 rules of writing

1. Never open a book with the weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said.”
5. Keep your exclamation points under control!
6. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Same for places and things.
10. Leave out the parts readers tend to skip.

Zadie Smith's 10 rules of writing

1. When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
2. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
3. Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation’. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle’. All that matters is what you leave on the page.
4. Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.
5. Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
6. Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
7. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.
8. Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
9. Don’t confuse honours with achievement.
10. Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand — but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

His mercies are new every morning

8.24am.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.9

Abide in His love

John 15:9-17 
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

The key to believing

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Birthday bonus

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Happy 47th birthday, my dear beloved Singapore

My country. My home. May God bless us and bless this beautiful nation.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

When life is unfair, God is still good

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

In quietness and trust

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Unity in the church

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Time to listen

I came home after a very long bus ride following a very long corporate prayer session in church on Friday. Sat next to an elderly lady who asked me if I had attended the prayer session. It turned out that we lived in the same HDB estate. She shared with me parts of her life. How she used to be a teacher. How she is now helping out as a mentor at The Helping Hand, a halfway house for drug addicts. I shared parts of my life with her. Which ministry I was serving in. What service I usually went to. Through the hour-long journey, she talked and I listened. I found it wonderfully nice to be able to have a stranger share with me about her life, what God is doing through her, and where God is leading her to serve. When it came her time to alight, she passed me a Helping Hand card with her name and handphone number on it and asked me to drop in when I am free. I'm keeping the card. :-)

The bigger picture

Life is a precious gift from God. But it has only meaning when we give it back to God; when we place all that we have and all that we are at His disposal for the sake of neighbour, nation and nations. Life is a mission. Live it up. Live it well. For Jesus. 
(from the LoveSingapore 40-day prayer booklet)

All things Egyptian

Today, leave "Egypt". Draw the line.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Bear fruit that lasts

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 
John 15:16

8.30am

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Victor Hugo in his own words

A faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing.

A great artist is a great man in a great child.

A library implies an act of faith.

Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.

As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.

Because one doesn't like the way things are is no reason to be unjust towards God.

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.

Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.

Common sense is in spite of, not as the result of education.

Conscience is God present in man. 

Do not let it be your aim to be something, but to be someone.

Each man should frame life so that at some future hour fact and his dreaming meet.

Great perils have this beauty, that they bring to light the fraternity of strangers.

Hope is the word which God has written on the brow of every man.

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said.

I met in the street a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, his cloak was out at the elbows, the water passed through his shoes, - and the stars through his soul.

I'm religiously opposed to religion. 

Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.

It is from books that wise people derive consolation in the troubles of life.

It is most pleasant to commit a just action which is disagreeable to someone whom one does not like.

It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.

Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.

Love is a portion of the soul itself, and it is of the same nature as the celestial breathing of the atmosphere of paradise.

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

One is not idle because one is absorbed. There is both visible and invisible labor. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. The crossed arms work, the clasped hands act. The eyes upturned to Heaven are an act of creation.

Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime.

People do not lack strength; they lack will.

Perseverance, secret of all triumphs. 

Prayer is an august avowal of ignorance.

Rhyme, that enslaved queen, that supreme charm of our poetry, that creator of our meter.

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.

The learned man knows that he is ignorant.

The omnipotence of evil has never resulted in anything but fruitless efforts. Our thoughts always escape from whoever tries to smother them.

To contemplate is to look at shadows.

To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.

To love another person is to see the face of God.

To love beauty is to see light.

To love is to act. 

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age.

Wisdom is a sacred communion.

Source: www.brainyquote.com

Purity is a personal choice

Temptation is an inevitable part of our fallen world. We can't escape the bait. The sin is not in the bait. The sin is in the bite.
- Charles Swindoll

God with us

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Live and let live

On rain

I reposted something on rain just on Facebook and decided to look up some quotes containing the word "rain". How random. How lovely. 

A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long.

e. e. cummings

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.

Rabindranath Tagore

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots.

Frank Howard Clark

For me, a page of good prose is where one hears the rain and the noise of battle. It has the power to give grief or universality that lends it a youthful beauty.

John Cheever

I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests.

Pablo Neruda

I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face.

Katherine Mansfield

If I were running the world I would have it rain only between 2 and 5 a.m. Anyone who was out then ought to get wet.

William Lyon Phelps

Into each life some rain must fall.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Langston Hughes

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.

Ashley Smith

My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane.

Robert Frost

No person has the right to rain on your dreams.

Marian Wright Edelman

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.

John Updike

Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams.

Hosea Ballou

That's what I love. Not being interrupted, sitting in a car by myself and listening to music in the rain. There are so many great songs yet to sing.

Alison Krauss

The rain began again. It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfilment of its own nature, which was to fall and fall.

Helen Garner

The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach.

Henry Beston

When I'm writing, I am concentrating almost wholly on concrete detail: the color a room is painted, the way a drop of water rolls off a wet leaf after a rain.

Donna Tartt

You should not see the desert simply as some faraway place of little rain. There are many forms of thirst.

William Langewiesche

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

- Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV)

Source: www.brainyquote.com

Are you game?

Godly character is not formed in a day. It is a journey through trials and testings.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard

Fall silent before God. Let Him cross-examine you. Ask Him to forgive you and set you free today.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

A dream so big

Pray specifically. Be still. Listen deeply.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Live the dream

‎"You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream."
- C.S.Lewis

Addition, not subtraction

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

How to give

The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life.
- Mother Teresa

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

For everyone and for every need

I had a most fulfilling weekend. First, it was a very happy occasion for two of the most important people in my life (my auntie and her daughter) as my cousin held her Singapore wedding. Glory to God and may they fulfill all that God has purposed for them in their lives. Oh what a glorious day; what a glorious Name that we serve. Jesus shall take the highest honour. 


Second, it was community outreach showcase in my church today. The pastor leading that ministry was sharing about how the Lord led him in 2006 to reach out to the ex-offenders among many groups. This was followed by a group of them singing a Cantonese gospel song and a hymn in Hokkien, and one of them giving his testimony in Hokkien. He shared about how he joined gangs, recruited prostitutes, worked as a temple medium, got involved with drugs and was addicted to gambling. His breakthrough came when he and his wife attended a service and his wife responded to the altar call. He shared that he felt something burning in him and pushing him to raise his hand. So he also accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. My church pastors also prayed for his deliverance and healing. And since then, he has not looked back. 


Following his testimony, my pastor went up to the stage and said: "This is what a church should be." For everyone and for every need. 

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup

If one goes looking for acceptance, recognition and fulfillment from people or things in this world, there is always the possibility of disappointment followed by bitterness and perhaps unforgiveness and a feeling that we were denied something or not given credit sufficiently. And we lose sight of what God regards as important. If we turn our eyes towards Jesus and rest in Him, then there is true contentment and joy because He is the giver of all things. All of us cannot do everything but we can each do something for God, and that is what the global church/fellowship of God is all about. The humility to remember that we are all a small part of God's tapestry and we do not see the full piece that God is weaving. It is interesting in Matthew 24 and 25 that a servant of God is "good, wise and faithful". 

And my heart will follow wholly after You

Felt very ministered at today's worship in church. Our worship pastor was back after a long break, and clearly her love for God has not diminished. Anointed and just so in love with Jesus. And she was so right to say that the presence of the Lord was so strong and God was there asking us to return to Him and to draw closer to Him. 


Lord, let today and whatever You wish to deposit in me be not a fleeting moment but a loving moment etched in Your timeline of eternity. 


Let me surrender fully to Your Refiner's fire so that there is purity of heart and all other things, like dross, is burnt away; so that others will see less of me and more and more of the Christ who is in me. 


This song spoke to me during the worship service.


Dwelling Places - Hillsong

Thirsty, I come after You 
Jesus my joy, my reward, 
Your love's restoring my soul 
Now I'm Yours and You are mine 
and from my heart a song will rise


I love You, I love You, I love You (3) 
and my heart will follow wholly after You


Jesus there's none beside you 
Righteous, ruler of the earth 
Nations will come and bow down 
Name after all names 
I sing You praises and all I can say to you is...

God has His eyes on this resort

Mindfulness

Stop, Breathe, Notice, Reflect and Respond.

For Mark

Life is unpredictable. I received news two days ago that one of my former colleagues had been diagnosed with sarcoma and was given only two weeks to live. After the diagnosis, he opted for palliative care. I was gutted because he is a very nice soft-spoken gentle man who is a joy to be around with. I was passed his hospital ward details and had already decided to visit him during lunch the day after I received the news. Unfortunately, his family informed my former boss that he wished for privacy and time with his family because he was very tired. He is now heavily sedated and wearing an oxygen mask. I did not visit him in hospital but told my former boss to keep me updated. I had wanted to go there and speak Psalm 91 to him. Mark, I'm praying for you.

My Refuge and My Fortress

91 He who dwells in athe shelter of the Most High

will abide in bthe shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say1 to the Lord, “My crefuge and my dfortress,

my God, in whom I etrust.”

3 For he will deliver you from fthe snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will gcover you with his pinions,

and under his hwings you will ifind refuge;

his jfaithfulness is ka shield and buckler.

5 lYou will not fear mthe terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes

and nsee the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your odwelling place—

the Most High, who is my crefuge2—

10 pno evil shall be allowed to befall you,

qno plague come near your tent.

11 rFor he will command his sangels concerning you

to tguard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you ustrike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on vthe lion and the wadder;

the young lion and xthe serpent you will ytrample underfoot.

14 “Because he zholds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he aknows my name.

15 When he bcalls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and chonor him.

16 With dlong life I will satisfy him

and eshow him my salvation.”