This afternoon, I felt really miserable. I felt really alone, and I do not know who I could share with. I felt discouraged, and bit like Job. He received bad news one after the other. He kept losing his fortune in successive waves, and finally he lost his children, and his health. And he rightly felt that God has abandoned him.
I said I felt a bit like Job because I still have my wealth, my health, and children. But the things that went wrong keep coming one after another.
Continue readingYesterday, I heard a sharing from a brother about his experience that opened up his eyes. For the last 30 years, he thinks he is okay, until the one experience that force him to look deep and hard.
That sharing triggered me, together with few other incidents. There are times in my life that I experience those moments. That I had to go alone and wrestle with God like Jacob. It’s better off to wrestle with God and became limping afterwards, then to go on with life but unsettled. It is better of, far better of, to lose everything but to know Christ, identified with him in his death and to know the power of his resurretion, than to go with life having everything but empty of his power.
Or to borrow Jim Elliot’s famous words,”he is no fool who give what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”.
It’s better to lose everything and follow Jesus, than to have everything but lose Jesus.
Thank you brother for your honest and simple sharing. I love my dear wife too for that very reason. A woman who fearful of many things, but regarding Jesus, she could say without a blink nor a slightest doubt,”I rather have Jesus than anything.”
I got a feeling that my eldest girl has a special link with the First Noel. I didn’t realise it until this evening after what she made for her sister on her 7th birthday.
Last Christmas she sang the hymn for our children church. She memorised the whole 5 chapters. Then during her poetry class, she made herself a poem titled the First Noel. I need to dig that up. She came out that by herself, quite telling for a girl at her age.
And now she made the whole Nativity scene with baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the stable, using polymer clay, old cardboard, and some paints. She even made a light on the stable.
Continue readingLife isn’t always a mountain top experience. Just like piano has low notes, so sometimes God used the low points of life to sober us down.
An empty inbox, no new clicks, no change of status, no good news from afar, no happenings. Questions if not criticism, grumbling if not bad mouthing or bad thoughts. Feeling alone on a journey, unable to reach a decision or rather not sure which way to go.
Where do I go from here? I felt for those people felt they’re forgotten. It’s true, we often quick to forget. Our enthusiasm and memory doesn’t serve us long. I felt for those who’re old too. Who in their old age not only face loneliness, frailty of life, weakening of bodies and minds, but being forgotten.
A prayer to my God. Please remember me and forget me not.
In my lowly state, I learnt to be quiet.
We just came back from holiday. A nice holiday. Yesterday, had a scare when I called to make doctor appointment, they asked me to go see Emergency.
So this morning, post holiday and post scare, we had all our food ready. I just thought to give thanks to God.
Thank you Lord for eyes that see. It's so good to see. Thank you Lord for breath in my lungs. It's so good to be alive. Thank you Lord for good health that I could move around. Thank you Lord for watching over us; on the road, the weather, food on the table....those that we do not have control over. I pray you use the breath, vision, and mind that You gave, for praiseworthy stuff for you. Thank you Lord for being so good.Continue reading
Yesterday I went to buy bread and pick up groceries. As I came down from car and wait for my order, a man approached me. He opened his hands with some coins, told me that his pay only comes on Monday, and asked me if I could help him. I took $2.1 from my pocket and I gave him the $2. He said,”thank you mate, thank you mate.”
I entered the bread shop to buy our usual bread. I was shocked that the price has increased by almost 7% for bread. As I left the bread shop still in disbelief, I thought probably I shouldn’t be too generous with the man asking money, who knows he’s just lazy and not really in need. As I went into the car, I passed the man, and he kept saying, “thank you mate, thank you mate.”
Then my wife called, asked me to get chicken for lunch. So I went to the nearby supermarket to get the usual roasted chicken. To my delight, I found the chicken was discounted. So I quickly got one and went home.
After lunch, I reflected on the incident; I gave $2 to a man that asked me, and the price of daily bread went up by almost 7%. But at the end, I got chicken for lunch on promotion that cover the $2 and 7% increased in bread. I felt as if God was telling me not to worry, that He would take care of us.
I never setup to do what I am doing today or be where I am today. As I was talking with few friends the last 1 week, I just can’t help but to consider myself very blessed.
A friend who is still looking for a job, a friend who’s about to lose his job, and another friend whose job is not permanent and not certain about the future. I can think of another friend who’s thankful for any jobs that come on his way. I don’t have to struggle or worry so much about my job. Can I trust God the same if I were on their shoes like I’m with this job? I am not sure. Most probably I would worry, my face would be downcasted, my stride would be less certain, and my outlook would be cloudy.
Continue readingI do not understand why, but from time to time, I like to turn my eyes to read the book Revelation again and again. And it always without fail cheers me up. And upon meditating it for probably the third or fourth time now, I am more convinced (contrary to many popular belief) that this book is supposed to bring peace instead of fear, clarity instead of confusion, and resoluteness instead of doubt.
Continue readingJesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?
Luke 5:34 (NIV)
It’s a question with the answer “NO” is very obvious isn’t it? Regardless of any cultures, wedding is considered one of the most joyful & festive event, celebrated with a crowd of friends and families. In some culture event “strangers”.
Continue readingYou have kept count of my tossings;
Psalm 56:8a (ESV)
One of my desires/wishes/hopes/prayers that makes my day is a good rest at night. The flipside is also true, if I didn’t get my hours of sleep at night, I would be grumpy/weak/sleepy/tired/suboptimal on the next day.
Earlier this week, I woke up with that annoyed feeling for not having a good rest the night before. And as I read my Bible, those verse above caught my eyes. God counts my tossings? The next verse, it says,”this I know, that God is for me”. At that point, it changes my perspective about God. A person whose desire and longing to have a good rest through the night, and woke up not feeling rested well enough, and God says,”I know son, I counted how many tossings you had last night.” It validates that God is indeed for me.
The next time you woke up feeling cheated / grumpy for not having your quota of sleep, remembers that God is for you. He is as near as always and he counts the number of your tossings in His book.
Thank you Lord, for such awesome care of me.
