JESUS Rocks!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Often we are proud of the heritage we have but forgotten that we do not necessary live out the heritage we have. 1 Sam 8 tells us that the sons of Samuel did not walk in his ways (just like Eli's sons!). Though Samuel has been a great prophet, his sons went after dishonest gain, accepted bridbes & perverted justice. What kind of life we would live does not depend on the heritage we have, doesn't matter whether we are descendents of the some famous person, people with great reputation or even godly people. It is our own choice as to what kind of life we would live.

King represents the highest authority - God is the King over our lives, no other authority is greater than God thus if the authority commands us to do something that is against the word of God, we are able to say 'no'. However, all authority is instituted by God & we should submit to the authority as God has revealed to the Israelites of what it means to have a king governing the nation.

penned at 1:26 AM

Friday, March 27, 2009

I've been listening to A R Bernard's preachings & though they are pretty basic topics but he's truly a great speaker. In one of the recent ones I've listened it, he talked about spiritual maturity which spoke to my heart. If you would like to download his podcast - this one is on 'Ordering your life - Part 5'. Here's a summary of what I have taken to heart.
[Don't know who he is? Check out www.arbernard.com]

The fact that my life has changed for the better after coming to know God & having a better quality of life by having some things coming into my life which made my life better is not a measure of spiritual growth. Spiritual growth cannot be measured externally & materially as it is a matter of the heart.

When disciples were telling Jesus how the demons were subject to them, Jesus told them not to be happy about such things but be happy that their names are written in the Book of Life. Spiritual maturity is not about what we can do, what God enabled us to do but it is about our relationship. Back to the basics of two greatest commandments: love God and love people (both Christians & sinners). Some get along with Christians but not sinners & some with sinners but not Christians. Both are lacking in spiritual maturity. Getting along with Christians but not sinners as lack in catching God's heart for the lost. Evangelism is the outward evidence of spiritual maturity resulting from a greater love for God & people. Getting along with sinners but not Christians due to different expectations. Sinners can be excused when they do something wrong but Christians can't be excused (apart from self whom we can always be excused =p).

How do I know I am spiritually mature? Do I love my fellow Christians to see them grow in God? Do I love the sinners to see them being saved? If I am struggling with loving God and people then I'm not growing spiritually. For example, we all feel dissatisfied of the church at times as we may no longer feel fulfilled when going to church hence we look for another church. The newness will wear off & cycle repeats. The point we have missed is the understanding that the church only gets us started in our spiritual life but it is our responsibility to grow spiritually.

The relationship I work on is the relationship that will grow. Am I working on all other relationships but my relationship with God today? By working on all my relationships with my fellow brothers and sisters, will my relationship with God grow? No! My relationship with God requires me to work on it & not through other relationships! We burn out from serving as we have not paid attention to what is the utmost important in our lives. Whatever we give ourselves to will grow, have we give ourselves to our relationship with God today & everyday? Things such as conferences, meetings & ministries would not get us there.

Spiritual growth is about loving God & ministry is about drawing people closer to God & to other people. The right question to ask is do I love God more today than yesterday? Love will cause us to do the right thing & there is no need to look at obligations & think whether we'll carry them out or not. The more you love God, the less things you need to be satisfied. God becomes the sum of total satisfaction. People stock up on things as they have not found total satisfaction in God and are unable to live out Matt 6:33 in full.

Col 2:19 tells us that spiritual growth is partially the work of God in the believer, that is, the life of God present in the believer. Is the life of God present in my life today?

penned at 11:53 PM

Thursday, March 26, 2009

People are required to offer a guilt offering to God when they've done something wrong for God to forgive them. Nowadays, no longer an offering needs to be given due to the sacrifice Jesus has made on the cross. We can come to God with full confidence that when we repent of our sins, He will forgive. We need to be conscious of our sins & such consciousness of sins comes from a reverent fear of God. For if we do not respect & fear Him for who He is then sins to us is nothing of our concern. 1 Sam 6 demonstrates how people have learnt it the hard way.

What is true repentance? Samuel gave some indications of what true repentance is in 1 Sam 7:
1. Get rid of all idols - are there idols in our lives that we treasure more than God? Make sure we lay them down this day at God's feet.
2. Commit to the Lord - commitment comes with whole-heartedness & an undivided heart. One of my favourite worship songs is 'a pure heart' as the lyrics speak fully of the kind of heart God is looking for in us. We will serve God alone! Not our studies, careers, families, friends, churches, money or possessions. We do our best in our studies & careers because we do our best in everything for God! We love & serve our families, friends and churches because we are serving God! We manage our money & possessions well because we are using them to serve God!

Fasting & confession hopefully will keep our hearts humble and repentant before our Lord. God is always looking for us to come back to Him & He is our deliverer from sins & bondages, from negative thoughts & emotions, from ungodly attitudes & behaviours & from spiritual attacks of the enemies.

penned at 10:53 AM

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

It's me again! Through the journey of 1 Sam 5 =) God is all powerful. Indeed, if God does not let the Philistines capture the ark of covenant, they would not be able to do so. However, it was through the capturing of the ark of covenant that they have discovered the all powerful God. God is above all other gods that the Philistines have ever believed or worshipped. The judgment of God cannot be stopped by anyone & is feared by all. God is not a God that we can fool & treat lightly in our lives!

penned at 9:46 AM

Monday, March 23, 2009

Coming to 1 Sam 4! Funny enough often we are narrow-sighted in the sense that we only considered ourselves & don't think too much about the consequences of our actions. We think that it is ok to say something we feel true of without considering how others may be hurt by what we say, we think that it is ok to do whatever we feel like doing because it is our freedom & our right, we even think it is ok to sin against God because only we ourselves will be punished. This chapter has proven us wrong & beyond. The sin of Eli's sons have not just brought about judgment on themselves but effectively to their entire family, to Eli, to their wives & to their descendants.

Doesn't it bring us major concern to know that our sins can affect the people around us, even those we love the most & did not intend to harm at all?

From generation to generation, the family of Eli will face the judgment of God. It brings us to the seriousness of sins in our lives & hopefully on our knees quick enough that we know we have set everything right before God each & every day. Interestingly enough, we often focus on how good God is, how loving He is but forget how faithful & just He is too. He will punish those who sin against Him & life would change forevermore, not only the one that has sinned but also those around them. Live a life that is pure & clean before God with repentant & humble heart for we know the meek will inherit the earth & the pure will see God (in a good way =D).

penned at 11:39 AM

Friday, March 20, 2009

Eli, knowing his son's sins & failed to restrain them, is soft hearted to his sons yet not blinded by their wrongdoings. He knows that God is God, He will judge and His word will come through. Samuel, simply a boy but as he received God's word, Eli (being His teacher or discipler) is humble to receive the word from Samuel as He knows the word comes from the Lord. Maturity and hearing from God do not depend on ages or status, they are a result of keeping ourselves right before God & close to God.

There is no other person in this world who knows what is truly good apart from God. After hearing of the judgment, Eli simply said 'He is the Lord, let Him do what is good in His eyes.' God sees all things, knows all things & thus knows what is good for someone and for a time. Eli knows there is no way he can escape the judgment of God as God is God. All he could do was simply to continue to submit to God. What happens when God tells us that He will judge us for something that we've thought of, said, done? For myself, I think I'll try to explain myself first...'God, it is because of this and that's why I've reacted that way...God, I have the right to react this way, why should I let others treat me this way...God, I was provoked' =D but these are useless but at the end God is the judge and not me. I have no say in the judgment & it is different from the law courts here on earth as God will not be swayed by arguments or persuasion because He knows all things, He knows the good and the evil, He is God! I'm sure Eli does not rejoice in God's judgment but he knows that God is the one who knows and determines what is good to be done, even to judge him and his family. God is sovereign.

penned at 5:11 PM

Hannah when received from God did not forget to thank God and give praise to God for who He is. What do we do when our prayers are answered? Rejoice, enjoy what God has given, do we remember to thank and praise God for it? Thanking and praising God for what He has given to us is not a habit of simply saying thank God or praise God when good things happen. It comes from the heart of the full knowledge that God is sovereign, He is great, He is good, He is in control & He is God, we are humans! It is interesting how Hannah's prayer mentioned about God being a judge & indeed it follows that Eli's family was judged.

By giving back to God what God has given, God's blessing did not end there. Hannah did not just had one son, Samuel, but God blessed her with three sons and two daughters after Samuel. Truly, God does not withhold His blessings from us as we obey & honour Him. When we are blessed financially and use it for God's kingdom, God will not stop blessing us financially! When we do not stop sharing the gospel, we will see salvation! When we do not stop pouring out to bless others in our lives, God will not forget to bless us! When we make sure we learn the lessons God is teaching us such as trusting in Him, loving our neighbours & enemies, forgive & accept one another, we will continue to move on & go far. Give, & it will come back to you.

penned at 4:57 PM

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I'm eagerly awaiting for book reviews & sharings from you =) I wanted to bring many books over but couldn't due to the weight and carrying things for Beng & Mel too (even with my help, they were overweight =p).

I've gone back to read 1 Sam & just some thoughts on it. Chapter 1 talks about how Hannah could not conceive & prayed to God asking for son & she would give him to the Lord. This is a principle of giving to God what He has given. New Testament says give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's. What exactly is God's? Everything! Psalm talks about God is the owner of everything. How do we live out a life that truly give to God what is God's? Tithing is a principle of giving to God what He has given to us. Though tithing is not giving of everything & only 10% as guided by the Old Testament but if we can't give even 10%, how are we able to give everything to God? Serving God with our time, energy, skills and talents to be the 'good & faithful servant' is whom God has called us to be. Living this life that God has given for His purpose to be more Christ-like in our character, to worship God alone, to build up the church and make disciples of all nations - read Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren if you haven't read it before! =)

God gave me finances & I can say with confidence that I use it for the kingdom of God wisely. A simple life I can live with though I have every right to live a rather comfortable life that I may bless the Lord back more by building God's church & community. God gave me work & I will serve my colleagues as they are the harvest field that God has placed me in. I'm not at work just for work & money & to do my best but I'm at work to touch lives for eternity. God gave me the ability to speak & teach and I will speak for His glory in positivie speech, godly speech with no gossip & slander. I will teach what is in the bible & not what I think the bible should say. I will use whatever language God enabled me to share the gospel & disciple others.

Nothing comparable to Paul though =p who has considered everything complete rubbish in comparison to knowing God. God gave me this life & I want to say at the end of this life that I have completed what He has called me to be & do. No regrets and in complete obedience to God.

penned at 8:01 PM

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Hi girls, I hope all of you are having a great time and enjoying the warm temperature in Brisbane! I'm enjoying the cool weather here. Arrived yesterday and was around 5 degrees, today is -3 in the early morning and 9 in the afternoon. Everyone walks around as if it is not cold at all =D at least it is not cold for them given winter is -20 to -40. My flights to Montreal were smooth and on time. Had quite a long break in Taiwan international airport and could access internet for free. Upon the longest flight from Taiwan to Vancouver (10.5 hours), the stewardess changed my seat to one with an empty seat next to it so I could lie down to rest! Praise God! I didn't even have to ask for it =) It was quick for me to go through the custom in Vancouver, probably the quickest of all who were there lining up. The favour of the Lord is amazing! Our luggages safely arrived in Montreal this time and managed to get into our temporary accommodation straight afterwards. We had a bit of problem with the internet but now it's all fixed up. Met up with Harry from Hope Singapore yesterday and got a cell phone sim card (not called mobile phone here =)) and today went to the bank to open an account. The lady at the bank was great! It's St Patrick's Day so everyone was in green, they also had green muffins, biscuits and drinks which they made themselves. I had a green muffin =) tastes really good! She opened an account for me that does not require account keeping fee and with no minimal amount to be in the account plus there are free transactions! Thank God!

By the way, during my transit in Toronto, I was looking for water coolers but found none. I approached an airline worker and asked whether the water from the toilet is drinkable. She looked me blankly...not because she doesn't understand what I'm saying but because in Canada, if you mention toilet, the first thing they think of is toilet bowl...so don't use the word 'toilet' but use 'washroom' =D

penned at 1:20 PM