Average Life

10 Rules to a Sucessful Marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Have been dead busy last couple of months.... but I think I should drop a quick note here after having a edifying discussion in church.

Today, in our Jia En Fellowship we had a discussion on what makes a successful marraige which is a follow up on the "Fireproof" movie that we screened last week. It was a lively fellowship with many throwing in their opinions.

Finally, the discussion leader summarizes the following Rules:

1. Expect differences

Each party brings in different up-bring, idealogy, understanding, expectations, etc... into a union. Know this, and learn to deal with these cordially.

2. Do not Restrict

Control and suspicion are the marriage killer. Since there is love and mutual agreement therefore both parties came into marriage, let love, trust and mutual respect overrule all matters.

3. Do not Neglect

Relationship like all living creature need to be nurtured and both parties need to put in time and efforts. Marriage is not the end of a union but the begining of a lifelong partnership.

4. Do not Sin

Immorality, gambling, drunkardness, dishornesty and all kind of social ills are stress points in a marriage and no party should be subjected to. It will no be fair to expect the other party to accept such violation of trust and love.

5. Wrong methods of Expression

Marriage is never a bed of roses. When dealing with our differences, consider carefully our resolution methods. Nagging, violence, vulgar language, temper, etc are not constructive methods.

6. Good Communication

This does not mean voicing out our own view and opinion only. The ability to LISTEN is more important and speaking.

7. Compromise

Acknowledging that we are all different is good but it is more important to reach a middle ground a mist our differences, there must be give and take to make a relationship work.

8. Compliment

When was the last time you said "I LOVE You" ? Tangible appreciation is important. Take her out for private dinner, buy her flowers, give him a massage and buy him a gadget. Be pragmatic, love and relationship does not live on air alone, it needed to be fed.

9. Be Considerate

Mutual respect and join decision making is important. In no circumstances that one party is allow to belittle another.

10. Be Christlike

This is the golden key to all marriages. Learn to be like Christ to love and honor each others. Be righteous and an examplary to all.

Amen.

A small copper coin

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:37:00 +0000

It was in these festive holidays I happend to read an article in the recent Reader Digest (Feb-2009) issue entitled "The Other Side of the Coin". It was a simple testimony of a mother about a dark brown coin given to her by an old begger woman during her hour of desperation in a foreign land where she lost all her valuables and passport to a snatch theif.

The story inevitably reminded me of the story of the poor widow who put in 2 small copper coin into the temple treasury (Mk 12:41-44). Both these women are poor and probably lived on alms given by people on a daily basis. They both would not know when their next meal is going to be and just like the old begger woman...., would stretch out her hands to anyone who walks by hoping that they will give them something.

The mother in the story - in her frastration, shouted at the old begger woman, blaming the security in her country that had caused her to be stranded without a penny.

Instead of walking away or scolding the stranger, the old begger listens to her predicament quitely and smiled. Reaching into her own pocket, she retrieve a brown coin and gave it to the stranger - a great act of CHARITY, indeed.

These women, both, in their poverty showed much charity - which indeed worthy of the praises of the Lord Jesus. I believe they are happy that they are given an opportunity to give to those less fortunate then them.

I asked myself.... do I have the same courage and charity to give, if I'm in their situation? I could not say a definate YES! I'm indeed humbled after reading the story.

I hope you are much better than me... specially in this dreary time during such a global economic crisis.

I'm guessing that there are friends, neighbours or even strangers in your surrounding who may be in dire street - would you SMILE and extend a helping hand?

The Lord added to them daily

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:05:00 +0000

First - let me apologize to those of you who had been dropping by in the past few weeks but find no updates. Well, it's been a busy year-end for me with a lot of happenings and travels :D

Anyway, life hv to return to normalcy and the kids had to go to school and me, I got a little more time to do something online. This year can be consider a significant year for us in Hougang as we started our 1st Friday nite service on 2-Jan-2009 at a rented venue in the Girls Brigade Center along Upper Serangoon Road.

Dn Shieh noted that this is the 2nd time in abt 20 yrs we tried to setup a place of worship in this neighbourhood. The first was aborted when we could not get government approval to convert a residential land for religious usage and that end up we sold of the place and bought a piece of land along Adam Road where the current Adam Church stands.

The title, "The Lord added to them daily" was choosen as the 1st sermon given by Dn Shieh to encourage the members in this area to come together with one accord and aim to start up a fully functional church in the near future.

The message encouraged the members in this area to stand together with ONE Heart as was recorded in ACT 2:46 and the Lord will add to us daily.

The turn out during this session was beyond our expectation... while we hv book a room for 60pax, we ended up stuffing in 93 people who had turn up for the service. Praise the Lord!

May the Lord God bless us and assist us to setup a church in this area within the next 1yr.

You can help by remembering us in your prayers.

James 5:16-18

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Last evening we had our area home fellowship and we studied on "Elijah being a man just like us". We shared a lot about Elijah's faith and persistance in prayer and how we can learn from him.

Following is what a brother shared further on his thoughts on the subject which I think is good material to share with all my readers. Read on...

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. In other words, he was a human being , with the same physical weaknesses as ourselves.

How was he with a nature like ours?

a) He needed food and drink to be strengthened.

After Elijah told Ahab that there would be no dew and rain, God sent him to Brook Cherith to drink from it and to be fed by ravens. When Brook Chrith dried up, God directed Elijah to the widow at Zarephath so that he could continue to live with food and drink. After he executed the prophets of Baal and Jezebel was after his life, he went to the wilderness and God provided him with a cake baked on coals and a jar of water. With these 2 meals, he was able to travel 40 days and 40 nights to the mountain of God. So with regards to the food and drink needed by the body, he has the same nature as us.

b) He was forgetful in a moment of difficulty

Elijah seemed to have forgotten about the miracles which God performed through him when he ran away from Jezebel. His food delivered by the ravens, the inexhaustible supply of flour and oil at Zarephath, the revival of the widow’s son, the contest at Mount Carmel and the control over the discharge of rain would be reason for him not to be so anxious over his life. He could have inquired of the Lord, like he did when he cried out to the Lord to revive the widow’s son. However, perhaps at the moment of panic, he could not stop to ask God for directions. Instead, he prayed for death when he was in the wilderness. Similarly, we have received much grace from God. The best gift which He has given is the Holy Spirit, and along with this, the plentiful blessings and His protection in our lives. All these are good evidences that He is in control and we should be anxious over nothing. However, in the face of a situation which is seemingly too difficult to overcome, all the memories of past deliverance are erased. We do not know how to rely on God and carry out what we deem fit, like Elijah running for his life. So in this sense, Elijah had the same nature as us.

c) He wanted a way out of difficulty

Elijah prayed for death when the going was tough. He was already a day’s journey into the wilderness and he was alone, for he had left his servant in Beersheba. There was not even a single soul around to give him support. Besides, Jezebel was after his life and there seemed to be no opportunity for him to turn back to continue God’s work. All these will present a good justification in asking God for a death request because he has arrived at a dead end. In this case, Elijah has the same nature as someone with a terminal illness. In one of the facebook blog, a sister lamented over her father’s request to God to end his life and she was at a lost on how to advise her father. I mean since it is a terminal illness and death is inevitable, wouldn’t it be justified to ask for death? We could also see that Elijah asked for death in an imperative way. He said, “Take my life..” without consideration for the sovereign choice of God. Was his death at that instant in accordance to God’s will? If we were to read beyond the earlier portion of chapter 19, the answer is no. For God needed Elijah to anoint Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel and Elisha to take over his place as the prophet. Later on, Elijah was involved in pronouncing judgment on Ahab in the matter concerning Naboth’s vineyard.

d) He needed someone to wake him up.

Elijah needed someone, the angel of the Lord in this case, to wake him up. He might have felt that all was lost. Surely, after the successful miracle at Mount Carmel and his effective prayers for rain to be restored, it should lead to a good conclusion where he accomplished the work of God. Instead, he was on the run again, as in 1 Kings 17. That could be the reason why Elijah prayed for death and said that it was enough. Similarly, when we do God’s work, there will be times when things seemed to be progressing and then they are brought back to square one. Definitely we may feel discouraged and wondering why God wants us to go back to square one. We do not have the strength to continue in His work. At this time, we may become cold and dormant in doing God’s work, very much like Elijah sleeping under the broom tree. We will need someone to wake us up, and to encourage us with the words of God so that we could arise again to do God’s work. So in this sense, Elijah had the same nature as us.

Why were the prayers of Elijah effective?

a) Faith

I believe he was a man who manifests his faith. Elijah had faith in God to protect him from the hands of Ahab. On one occasion, he told Ahab that there would not be dew or rain except at his word. In another occasion after the execution of the prophets of Baal, he told Ahab to go up and eat and drink. It was quite courageous of Elijah to speak to Ahab in such an imperative manner, considering the fact that Ahab did more evil than all the kings before him. Why was he so courageous? The reason was his faith in the protection of God. It manifests Elijah’s great faith.

b) Righteousness

Elijah was also a righteous man. He was addressed as the man of God by the widow at Zarephath. In the book of James, the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Yes, it was true that Elijah showed his fervency in praying for the revival of the widow’s son. He had to carry the child to the upper room. He had to stretch himself on the child 3 times and cried out to the Lord. Also, at the top of Mount Carmel, Elijah prayed for rain by bowing on the ground and putting his face between his knees. All these were acts that went beyond the normal posture of kneeling in prayers. It reflected the fervency of Elijah. However, a fervent prayer can be more effective if the person who prays is righteous. Hence, this man of God saw his requests granted, as could be seen in the revival of the child and the resumption of rain. So this tells us the importance of being righteous, for God knows the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish. In the eight beatitudes, if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we shall be filled and the things we asked for in prayer will be satisfied.

========== == =

Well... I hope you like what you read. God bless.

The True Essence of Fellowship

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:54:00 +0000

Home fellowships usually have 3 components i.e. Hymnal, Bible Study and Fellowship. In the last home fellowship after the bible study we were having casual chats with those presents and the host family and we inquiring about some members whom some of us had not seen for awhile. At the same time, we were also joking and poking fun at some others all in the spirit of communion.

After the home fellowship is over, I received an SMS from one brethren who was present in the fellowship indicating his concern that we are gossiping and talking behind others back. I was distress on reading it. Thoughts came thru my head... did we over do what we did?

"and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks" - Eph 5:4

Are we guilty of the above instruction?

Further thoughts on the issue brings up to me yet another aspect of this event. If you are in the company, would you have raise this concern?

Probably not - why would you risk offending others and risking others to think that you are being self righteous?! - Right?

But apostle Paul was different, he had wrote many letters to encourage the brethren to admonish each others, so that they can grow in faith and in strength. (1 The 5:14; 2 The 3:15; Rom 15:14)

Having thought over this, I concluded that the true ESSENCE of fellowship is not just gathering together to study the words of God BUT also provide an opportunity to admonish and edify each others with brotherly love so as to help each one to grow spiritually into maturity.

BUT there is a TWIST in this - how many of us are ready to be reproved and admonished?!

If you are the one who had received the SMS, how would you have reacted? Would you have a calm and humble spirit to ponder over it and make adjustment to yourself? Or would you have reacted negatively to a such a comment?

It is not easy for some of us but if we can build a fellowship based on openess with mutual trust and love then we shall stand as one before God. Remembering always that; No one is perfect - except God.

We must always be humble before God and have the mentality to learn. It should not matter who taught the lesson - it might be the blind begger that Jesus healed or a child or someone others despire or even your enemy!

Remembering always that God talks to us through all his creations - even the child, the begger, the thuds and the ungodly, what more if it is from a brethren in Christ?!

So therefore, let us not despise one another but with love, admonish and edify each other. There shall be no shame before the Lord for we are all the same and equal. May God bears with our weakness and continue to bless us.

Amen.

"... now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you.". On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it." - 1 Cor 12:20-27

Offering an acceptable service to God (3)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:59:00 +0000

In the conclusion of my previous posting, I say, “… we must strive patiently”.

Aren’t having true knowledge of the will of God, good attitude and not seeking the praises of men enough to qualify our “acceptable” service to God?

Are there more, requirements? Well, I guess not so much of “requirement” but rather it is when we thought we qualify, we disregarded God's plan for us.

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death! And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me." - Lk 22:31-34

Peter was fully convinced that he was ready to follow Christ all the way but Jesus told him that he would denied Him, 3 times in the same day.

Was Peter ready to serve?

He thought he was.

In fact, he and the 70 other disciples did great works for Jesus when they were sent out. Why not this time? I believe, he still lack or fall short of God’s requirement and therefore Jesus prayed for him and said, “…when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers..”.

Similarly, Moses thought he was ready to lead the people of God when he was 40 with all his vigor and knowledge but he ended up going into exile for 40 yrs. He must have felt it was unfair that such talent was not appreciated and his desire to be the leader of the Israelite was squashed. The following 40yrs in the wilderness as nothing more than a shepherd had humbled him to the state that God could finally use him… (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth – Num 12:3)

The important factor to qualify for an Acceptable Service is TIME. Just as it is written in Ecclesiastes 3 – “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…”

When we believe, we each receive a special gift from God – “…employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Pt 4:10-11

“Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it... All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles …” – 1 Cor 12:27-31

The gift and the ability to serve God are not ours, we must know that we are just vessels for His use and we will be given the right gift for the occasion. These are special gifts – to be prophets or teachers or workers of miracles, etc. Or be a church leader in our current context, etc.

We can pray for it but we cannot demand it, for if we were to take it upon ourselves by our own will then we will be like Moses and our service will be rejected by God. We will be threading on dangerous ground and can be easily taken by the evil one if we are not careful and alert.

However, there is one thing (service) that we must always do i.e. personal evangelism.

This is a commission already given to us. Just like what Paul said… “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.” – 1 Cor 9:16-17.

Jesus: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." – Mat 28:19-20

This is our Acceptable Service – to be true to His will and wait on His calling.

Offering an acceptable service to God (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:03:00 +0000

In my previous posting, I ended with the mention of Moses earnest service to God - “…By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh`s daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;” – Heb 11:24-25

God didn’t seem to be there when he wanted to take on the leadership role to lead his people. Instead, he was forced to abandon his plan and became a fugitive fleeing into the wilderness – banished from his people.

Have you taken time to find out why was his service and sacrifice not acceptable to God? The question is - What is an acceptable service? From the example of Moses, an individual desire to serve does not seem to be the only criteria. In fact, by itself, it was counted unacceptable… mmm… what am I saying?

The desire to serve without knowledge and/or with wrong reasons are not acceptable to the Lord e.g. “Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you…” – Mat 7:22-23

This group of Christians served in the ministry without the knowledge of the true WILL of God (Mat 7:21) and were rejected.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” – Mat 23:27-28

This group of religious teachers served Jehovah for the praises of men (Mat 6:16) and they too were rejected.

So in our service to God, we must truly understands the will of God in His salvation plan and truly understands our own attitude toward service.

Cain’s offering was disregarded by God because he did not do well and his deeds were evil (Gen 4:5-7; 1 Jn 3:12).

In summary, an acceptable service must be accompanied by:
1. True knowledge of the will of God. This does not equal to works like prophesying the words of God, casting out demons, performing miracles, etc.
2. Good attitude to service. This include humility, faith, patience, forbearance, love, etc.
3. Rejecting to seek the praises of man, having full knowledge that our ability to serve are entrusted to us and not from out of our own.

For these then we must strive patiently to acquire the knowledge and the right attitude to offer up our acceptable service to God.

Offering an acceptable service to God (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:02:00 +0000

As believer and children of God, we strive to offer our best service to God at some point of time in our life. It is unrealistic to say or even think that we always give our best. Undeniably, our level of faith goes up and down throughout our earthly sojourn with our God.

"... by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." - Heb 12:28-29

Regardless of what status we are in, we should at all times consciously offer up our services to God. It doesn’t need to be something exceptional, great or worthy of praise - just our sincere offering, out of our given ability and most of all a willing heart, seeking anything.

“…so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” – Mat 6:16

In our service to God, we are often in the danger of (unknowingly) seeking recognition from our peers and often having the urge of leaving our mark or legacy for the generation after us. This is human weakness which we must be fully conscious of and at all time reject such urging.

Otherwise, we may lose out on the true and divine reward prepared for us in heaven (Mat 6:16).

Moses (after he knew of his calling) at age 40 decided to take things into his own hands to try to save his people from the autocracy of the Egyptians. Thinking that this was his service to Jehovah and to his own people, he got himself into trouble (the rest of the story should be very familiar to you).

Is not his service acceptable to God? Why? – I’ll leave this for your own research and study. Meanwhile, I'll do mine - too. We can exchange notes - if you're willing. :D

Free Will Exist in Predestination (6)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:12:00 +0000

===========================================================
If this is your first time reading this article, you might want to read up the other parts first. You can follow this links to Part-1, Part-2, Part-3, Part-4 and Part-5
===========================================================

It had been awhile for those of you who has been following this thread. I was having trouble trying to give a conclusive ending to this topic... so for this final installment, I'm going to bring you an experience (try out the following scenario).

Scenario: Going to church on time
Objective: To bring the family to church

Start - You return home an hour before Sabbath service starts to pick up the family to church (the journey will usually takes about 20min). To your dismay, you found none of them are ready to leave and the children are still sitting in front of the TV!

You became:
(a) furious at the sight and started shouting at everyone to get ready quickly -- Go to Section 500
(b) angry and start directing everyone to get ready quickly -- Go to Section 300

200 - (**) You make a U-turn to go home to have this problem fixed and started scolding her until you reach home and order her to get down immediately. Shouting after her, you threaten to leave without her if she doesn’t come out in 5min.

Finally, after slightly more then 5min you are ready to leave home (again) and drove off with greater speed to compensate for the time lost. Determine to get to church on time, you zigzagged through the traffic going as fast as you could, knowing that created fear in your passengers (just to teach them a lesson).

About 500m to destination, your wife sitting next to you stroked your thigh lightly. You turn slightly and saw from her expression and slightly moist eyes; you knew instantly that she had wanted you to slow down.

(a) You ignore her, thinking that it is only another 500m to go -- Go to Section 800
(b) You slows down on her hint -- Go to Section 900

300 - Slightly more than 40min later – you managed to get everyone out of the house and into the car. You knew that you’ll probably be late for service and drove off at your normal cruising speed.

400m down the road, your eldest daughter squeaked – “Oh! No! I think, I’ve forgotten to switch of the iron!”

(a) Now it is getting to you and you felt really angry now -- Go to Section 200
(b) You’re frustrated and knew instantly you’ll not going to make it on time to church -- Go to Section 600

400 - 10min later and you saw the family started coming out one-by-one. You waited another 5min for everyone to get in the car and you drove off speedily (burning some rubber), hoping that you’ll still be able to reach church on time.

400m down the road, your eldest daughter squeaked – “Oh! No! I think, I’ve forgotten to switch of the iron!”

(a) You’re frustrated and blew your top -- Go to Section 200
(b) You’re frustrated and knew instantly you’ll not going to make it on time to church -- Go to Section 600

500 - 30min later – the family is still not ready to leave, anxious and feeling very angry you announced that transport will leave in 10min and everyone must get out of the house in the stipulated time!

(a) You grumbled and walked out of the house, shouting that you’ll be waiting in the car! -- Go to Section 400
(b) You tried to assist in whatever you can to get the family ready while still feeling irate. -- Go to Section 700

600 - You make a U-turn to go home to have this problem fixed. You were quiet along the way, trying to calm yourself and thinking how to make the best of the situation. On reaching you told your daughter to hurry up.

Slightly more than 5min later, you are ready to go. You drove off faster than your normal cruising speed and told the family this can be avoided if everyone were to take service time more seriously and get prepare ahead of time. You explain that mistakes are often made when we do thing in haste.

As you approach the junction (turning toward church), you saw a slight traffic jam in front and concluded that there was an accident ahead. As you pass the scene, you realized that you could have been in the same accident if you had driven a little faster.

You thank God that you are able to reach church safely although you’re almost 80min late.
Go to Review B.

700 - (**) 15min later you had everyone out of the house and into the car. You drove off speedily (burning some rubber), hoping that you’ll still be able to reach church on time. You zigzagged through the traffic, going as fast as you could, knowing that created fear in your passengers (just to teach them a lesson).

About 500m to destination, your wife sitting next to you stroked your thigh lightly. You turn slightly and saw from her expression and slightly moist eyes; you know instantly that she had wanted you to slow down.

(a) You ignore her, thinking that it was only another 500m to go -- Go to Section 800
(b) You slows down on her hint -- Go to Section 900

800 - (*) As you approach the junction (turning toward church), you heard a loud crash on your right and the next moment you saw a red car crashing through the grilled road divider and headed toward you. You tried to steer away from it but there wasn’t enough time and the last thing you heard was a super loud BANG!

You were crushed instantly when the red car crashes into the driver side door. Your family was seriously injured. You are dead and your family didn’t make it to church that day.
Go to Review C.

900 - Knowing that you’re already late, it does not matter now. You slow to slightly faster than your normal cruising speed. As you approach the junction (turning toward church), you heard a loud crash and you saw about 100m away a red car had crashed through the grilled road divider and headed toward you.

You jammed on your brakes and red car veer pass in front of you, misses your car by a few meters and went up the curb onto the pedestrian way and into a tree. You got out of your car and get your wife to drive the children to church while you render assistance to the red car driver.

You did not manage to attend service that day and your family was late for church but you were thankful to God that you and your family are safe.
Go to Review A.

Review A: If I’m God, you might say that you’re destined to be saved from disaster by God’s grace. When you saw the (**) marking, I knew that you’re in danger of getting hurt. I use your wife (external influence) to signal you to back down but it is still your choice to decide otherwise. Since you are reading this review, you’ve chosen wisely and you are saved. I’m happy that you’ve taken the hint.

Review B: If I’m God, this is my will for you that you’ll be safe. You have chosen to live wisely and fully in control of yourself. I’m glad that you’ve followed the way I wanted.

Review C: If I’m God, you might say that it is not fair that I’ve destine you to die this way. When you saw the (**) marking, I knew that you’re in danger of getting hurt. I use your wife (external influence) to signal you to back down but it is still your choice to decide otherwise. When you saw the (*) marking, I already know that you’re dead and I regretted that you did not take the hint.

Conclusion:
The above scenario is synonymous to the blueprint of our life – as the person preparing this, I’ve transcended time. The essence of time within the blueprint has no effect on me and you might say that I’m present throughout the entire scenario; this is the omnipresent aspect of God. The markings (**) and (*) clearly shows that I’ve fore knowledge of what is going to happen; this is the omniscience aspect of God.

Just like the scenario above, I’ve wanted that you’ll reach church safely. However, there is a chance that you might not reach at all. Do I know before hand you’ll reach church or not? Frankly, I don’t but I’m sure I do when you make fatal mistakes (indicated by my markings) and I intervene to steer you out of danger, only if you will. This is FREE WILL to you.

Our lives are predestined, but we’re free to chose and do as we will within God’s blueprint. “…not wishing that any should perish, but…” – 2 Pt 3:9

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.” – Jer 29:11-12

Free Will exist in Predestination (5)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:36:00 +0000

Free Will exist in Predestination (4)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:02:00 +0000

Free Will exist in Predestination (3)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:01:00 +0000

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If this is your first time reading this article, you might want to read up the other parts first. You can follow this links to Part-1 and Part-2
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How does FREE WILL work in a predestinated environment? To answer this, we have to establish that FREE WILL is synonymous to FREEDOM of CHOICE.

Using the example of Adam in the Garden of Eden, God placed Adam in this vast garden and commanded that he can eat of every tree that is in the garden, except the Tree of Knowledge, which is in the center of the garden. (Gen 2:9)

God has given Man the free will to choose not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge but man’s decision was effected by the fact that, the Tree of Knowledge was planted in the middle of the garden where man is more likely to pass by this Tree when he walk about in the garden.

Thus, man was predestined to SIN, not because it is God’s will but the influence of the environment where the Tree was placed, gives the opportunity for man to access the Tree or its vicinity more often (the shortest distance between 2 extreme points, often passes thru the center). Then at an opportune time the Snake, entices the woman and she made the wrong choice, thus, causes SIN to creep into the world.

Simply put it, God has predestinated that Man will sin against Him as well as predestinated Man will not sin. God places man in the garden, with all the trees and animals then gives man the freedom of choice.

Illustrated in the diagram beside, the BLUE line is the consequence of “Good” decision, while the RED line is that of “Bad” decision. Each decision (GREEN circle) in life is influence by some external forces or events. These external influences are dynamic and can be taken advantage by the devil (in the case of the snake).

While it is God who predestined the outcome of each decision, it is man who will have the freedom to make that choice.

So, God knows that man will sin but not of His will. Man could have chosen not to eat of the fruit of Tree of Knowledge but because of external influence, man failed to choose wisely.

In conclusion, while our lives are predestined we need to know that God has covered all possible outcomes of our decisions. So choose wisely and make the Lord glad. This affirms that God is Omniscience.

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You can continue reading this article by following this link to Part-4, Part-5 and Part-6 ===========================================================

Free Will exist in Predestination (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:36:00 +0000

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If this is your first time reading this article, you might want to read up the other parts first. You can follow this links to Part-1

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To many people, FREE WILL cannot exist together with PREDESTINATION. Now if that is absolutely true then there will not be any free will for man because many places in the Holy Bible do record that man’s life is predestinated (Job 14:5).

In order to share my idea that Free Will does exist in Predestination, I rely on my programming knowledge as an IT worker. Hopefully, the following analogy that I take from a Multi-player Role Playing computer Game (MMORPGs) will illustrate my point of view.

Below is a brief description of the characteristic of such games:

1) A virtual landscape or environment is created to host all the role-play characters.
2) These characters are predetermined with individual strength and weakness and each can learn new skill as well as improving its own strength or reduces its own weakness.
3) The landscape or environment can exercise certain influence to each characters differently (temporary).
4) Players assume one of the many characters available in the game and role-play that character, as he will.
5) Usually, there is a general mission for all players.

The outcome of each character is in the hands of the player according to his skill and will.

If you were to take a step back and look at the game in a different aspect, you’ll realize that man is now “GOD” of the virtual world where the role-playing players are interacting in!!

Everything that happens inside that virtual world are pre-programmed (predetermined) by man but yet the players have the free will to move the characters in anyway he wills. The main aim is to complete the mission that is set forth in the game.

If you have not seen or played any of these MMORPGs, go find one and play. There are many of such games out there and some of the popular names are Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Guild Wars, Maple Story, etc..

The above analogy serves only to highlight the possibility of free will in a pre-programmed environment. We’re all living in a world created and predestinated by God, much like point(1) above. In actual fact, what is described in the analogy is but a small and simplified example of what God had created and anything more complicated than this analogy will be beyond our understanding. (Isa 55:8-9)

While it is true that man’s life is predestinated, God instructed Adam not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge and that is distinctively a freedom of choice given to man.

In short, MAN DO HAVE FREE WILL – although life is predestinated by God.

For more reading material on predestination and free will, try http://www.wikipedia/.

The following are taken from Wikipedia. It is found that there are different schools of thought in Western Philosophy regarding Free Will and Predestination. In summary, there are:

1. Determinism
2. Compatibilism
3. Incompatibilism
4. Libertarianism

There are bulks of philosophical contents on each of the above topic, which is just too much for me to take in, and I didn’t even read them until I decided to write this article. A choice that I made just to determine if there is any idea out there that may be similar to what I’ve concluded.

Guess what – after a quick scan on the above philosophies, the closest to my idea is “Compatibilism”, which also advocates that Free Will is compatible to “Determinism”. Does the “Compatibilism” philosophy expound the same understanding as mine or not? I don’t know and don’t care.

If you have the time to read them all – you may want to share with me, whether “Compatibilism” is what I’ve concluded.

Look out for my next article where I’ll explain in more detail technically how does Free Will works in Predestination. Stay tuned.

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You can continue reading this article by following this link to Part-2, Part-3, Part-4, Part-5 and Part-6

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Free Will exist in Predestination (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:15:00 +0000

It started off from a simple question to me some years back... "If God is righteous and just as you said, why then He made Judas to be the one to betray Jesus and ultimately had Him killed so that He can be the Savior for man? Is it fair to Judas, who by fulfilling God's will, he was sent to hell? How is this justified?"

I was stumped. How can I explain to a non-believer that God is justify to choose Judas to complete this task for the salvation of man? This is a strong challenge to the All Righteous attribute of God. How would God had answered on judgment day, if Judas were to protested that he had no choice because he was destined to betray Jesus, so that the prophecy may be fulfilled? (Zech 11)

A simple question has now, dragged in a more complex question of predestination… and with predestination, many attributes of God are then being challenged:

1) God is Righteous and Just
Is it true that the whole of man’s life was predestined even before he was born? Then, how is it justified that certain men are born to salvation and some to death? (2 Thes 2:13-14, Rom 8:29-30)

2) God is Almighty and Omniscient
If man’s life is predestined even before he was born then why did God regret that He made Saul the king and why was God sorry that He had made man? (1 Sam 15:10-11; Gen 6:6) Didn’t God know before hand that Saul will fail Him and that man will sin?

3) God is Omnipresent
Similar to the above argument, if God is omnipresent then He should have known the end of an event. So why didn’t He?

How would you have answered these challenges?

Indeed predestination is written over many places in the Holy Bible and no one can refute that. Our faith tells us that God is indeed Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent and Righteous.

Can you affirm these beliefs when you’re challenged?
What is the basis of your belief?

The one and only mitigation to this paradox is – MAN HAS FREE WILL.

Hmmm…. Tricky…. Does free will exist in predestination?

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You can continue reading this article by following this link to Part-2, Part-3, Part-4, Part-5 and Part-6
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Prayer Health Check (Part-2)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:53:00 +0000

"...and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." - Rev 5:8

Prayers are liken to burning incense to God... it should be sweet smelling and pleasant to the Lord. Abraham is an excellent example for all. As he move around in the land of the Canaan, at every resting place that he stops over, he built an altar to burn offerings to God.

In my previous posting, I mentioned that our prayers tend to be like a repetitious recital that we do, every time we kneel down to pray. Well, we may defense ourselves saying that it is a set of items that we always pray to God e.g. for people that are sick, weak in faith, those we know who are currently in trouble, for peace and for our family members, etc.

These became standard features in our prayer and we practically recite them over for each and every prayer that we made to God with minimal variation. Is this wrong?

I’ve no answer.

Guess each of us had to dig deep into our soul to search for sincerity in each item that we pray for. Ask ourselves… “Is it just a repetitious recital? OR did we really pray with sincerity and faith?”.

Unfortunately, mine is a recital… I don’t even need to think (not to mention feel) and I could recite my entire prayer near to 15mins! Is my prayer a sweet smelling incense to my God? Will my prayer be despised by Him, just like Cain's offering?

“…unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” – Gen 4:5

How then shall I pray, that will be an acceptable offering to Him?

After assessing the problem…I realized that I do have quite a sizable list of items that I did pray for and b’cos of time, I tend to rush thru’ the list and thus, losses its sincerity. To remedy this, I shall do the following:

1. Break up my list and assign an importance rating to each item
2. Group 2 – 3 items as one. Depending on its importance, item can be assigned to more than one group.
3. Put each group into its priority.
4. For each prayer take one group and sincerely pray for each item.

Aaaaahhh NO – is this REPETITIOUS?!! Ooh… :{

What do you think?

If you have better ideas or suggestions, I would like to hear from you.
Thanking you in advance. God bless.

Prayer Health Check (Part-1)

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:19:00 +0000

Recently in a sermon - "7 fragrance of a Christian" it strikes me that my prayers are in poor state!

Prayers are often referred as the life-line of a Christian b'cos it essentially connects us to God. It's the only tools whereby we can communicate to Him. Does every Christian, pray regularly? I would like to believe that we all do - at least once or twice a day.
However, when times are good and life is smooth sailing, most of us tends to lose focus in our prayers. Eventually, our prayers became like a ritual for us. We repeat roughly the same prayer contents in the morning and evening, day-in day-out. We tell ourselves, we've prayed and had performed our duty.

Mmmm... when did prayer became a duty? And when did our prayer became like a piece of text that we'll recite every time we kneel to pray?

"...in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them:.." - Mat 6:7-8

How have you been praying? Are you awaken just like I am?

MIME on the song "Torn"

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:40:00 +0000

Hi... got this from YouTube.com, very good mime presentation!

Hope you like it.

Sweet Abundance

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:56:00 +0000

Briefly, on Channel News Asia I watch the documentary of volunteers workers working with kids in the AP regions. I saw the part when one of the volunteer related his experience in India with one of the streets kids...

"We were told not to give any money or sweets or food to the kid beggers around the area. I've just one sweet in my pocket and there was this boy and I past it to him. He took it, unwrap it, pop it into his mouth, bite on it and then he spat it out on to his hand.

I thought he didn't like the sweet but then I saw the sweet was broken into many pieces and the next thing that happend touches me so.... he took the pieces and shared it with the other kids! He had learnt to share his portion under his circumstance, it was really heart warming and indeed a leason for me..."

Indeed a commentable act for a kid in his circumstance to share his only sweet with others. He had only one sweet that he could had have it all to himself but he saw the abundance of sharing his fortune his peers. This brings to mind quite a few incidences in the bible....

5 loaves and 2 fishes - Mat 14:15-21; Lk 9:12-17; Jn 6:5-13
The widows mites - Mk 12:41-44; Lk 21:1-4
Isaac's wells - Gen 26

If the lad had withheld the loaves and the fishes b'cos it was all that he had for himself and had not seen the abundance of sharing his portion with the Lord, there will not be the miracle of feeding of 5,000.

If the poor widow had kept the mite for her last meal, her great deed of sacrificial offering will not be record in the bible for our admonishment.

If Isaac had not saw the abundance of God's resources, there will be wars. He may won all these wars but his great show of tolerance and faith in God's abundance would not had been written for our learning.

If we only sees the little that we have and closed our heart to the needs of others then we'll not see the abundance of God. On other hand, if we only depends on the abundance that we have and remains blind to the needs of others then we shall lose it all in heaven.

"...Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man`s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." - Lk 12:15

Remember the parable of the Rich man and Lazaus? - Lk 16:19-31

May you also see Abundance of God in all area of your life. Amen.
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Love and Forgiveness

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:13:00 +0000

How many times hv you hear the phase "Forgive and forget"? How many of us actually agreed to it?

Many will say - Nay... I can forgive but to forget is not easy and may be not at all.

"...Peter and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? Jesus saith unto him, ...until seventy times seven." - Mat 18 v 21-22

A famous verse indeed... I guess everyone is familiar with this verse but have we given thoughts into them? OR do we just push it aside and concede that we'll try as much as possible - after all we're all human, God understands.... period.

If that is our attitude, no wonder we agreed to the saying "Forgive but cannot forget". Indeed! We're human and hv our weakness... in any case, it is a tall order. Who can forgive seventy times seven? And we're so sure that God will understand that we readily give up even before trying.

Few days ago, I took time to ponder on this verse and then I realized that IF we rely on our own strength and ability to achieve this, it is definitly a TALL order. While we consider our privilege as sons of God and/or we always rely on God... very often, our own actions betray us, yet we are unaware.

When we forgive another, we often think that it is we who is just or magnanimous... forgeting that it was expected of us. We're indebted to God more than what we've suffered from them who had wronged us.

This reminds me of the parable of the "Evil servant" in Mat 18 v 23-35

How then is it possible to "Forgive and forget"?

We say - "I do rely on God but still I cannot forget. I try not to think about it but often it came back when he/she is in my presence".

If that was how we felt then we're just lying to ourselves that we had rely on God. Our actions had betray us but it is good if now that we aware of it.

I believe we can actually "Forgive and forget" and/or to forgive seventy times seven. It became clear to me when I pondered on the verse, suddenly the following encouragement jumped at me and I'm enlighten.

"but I say unto you, love your enemies..." - Mat 5 v 44
"...being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins...." - 1 Pet 4 v 8-9

It is LOVE! that makes you FORGET!

If we forgive with love to them that had offended us, we'll gradually forget the wrongs that they did to us. This is when we truly needed to rely on God to love them that had wrong us. If we do this diligently then what is seventy times seven?

Hope my enlightenment on this "Seventy times Seven " will be an encouragement to you. Amen.

Building blocks of SPIRITUAL LIFE

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:09:00 +0000

I'm not a man of science to expound the workings and essences of DNA, the physical building blocks of LIFE.

However, we're all familiar with the concept that LIFE is more than physical and there there is a spiritual or "mind" aspect to LIFE.

While on the way to work the other day, for no particular reason - I started to be philosophical and following came pouring into my mind... are these the building blocks of a good Spiritual Life?

With FAITH we build TRUST
With DISCORD we build SUSPICION

With TRUST we build LOVE
With SUSPICION we build ANIMOSITY

With LOVE we build PEACE
With ANIMOSITY we build HATRED

With PEACE we build PROSPERITY
With HATRED we buil DISTRUCTION

With PROSPERITY we build ABUNDANCE
With DISTRUCTION we build SCARCITY

With ABUNDANCE we build FAITH
With SCARCITY we build DISCORD

Well, I thought to myself after that and pounder what is it that just came? Then I realize that I'm contrasting between abundance and dejection. This happend was just after my morning prayer (on the way to work, in a bus!).

As usual I would start my prayer with things to be thankful for e.g. the wonderful morning, people that are dear to me, the peace we have in Singapore, etc.

In the last few months, I would remember our brethrens in Congo and generally Africa, where they are currently facing much hardship due to civil wars and political changes.

I was truly thankful that I was born in this part of the world and most of all in a time where peace and cooperation existed. I'm encouraged that I should not take things for granted and shall at all times be vigilant and in all opportunities evangelize for our Lord and saviour, that we may be found faithful on the coming Great Day.

Amen and may you have a great day too!

God do answers prayers..!

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:37:00 +0000

I just received a email chain from a friend with the story about a young man's personal experience of God. It may be fictitious or just a story but I found it rather edifing which I wanted to share with you.

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A young man had been to a Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.

The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home.
Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God..If you still speak to people
speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought
to stop and buy a gallon of milk.

He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home.

But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.

The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.

"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.

" It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience.
He could always use the milk.

He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street , he again felt the urge, "Turn Down that street." This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection.

Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street .. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.

Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".

He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi commercial area of town.

It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either.
The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like
the people were already in bed.

Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street."
The young man looked at the house.

It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat.

"Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."

Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.

Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay.

I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."

He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside.
A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?"

Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?"
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you."

The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.

The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand.

He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. Now, he knew that God still answers prayers.
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Well..Isn't it heart warming?! Have you had any experiences of prayer answered?
It is not difficult for we to pray and ask from God our needs but the difficult part is in entrusting our prayer to Him!

Lk 10:11 - "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

In the above passage, Jesus ask us to TRUST and BELIEVE that our Father shall give to us what we ask for and it will be given to us.

Do we have the courage to truly trust in God... even if, our prayers are not answered? Do we have the absolute TRUST and BELIEVE that God is faithful?

Dan 3:16-18 - "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Ask ourselves, are we able to be like these 3 friends of Daniel who will say that, "even if, God don't save them they still will not bow down to the king's image". This is a great show of faith at all cost.

I believe, most of the time when our prayers are not answered it is not b'cos that God did not hear us but rather is our own inhibition of God's blessing.....

... isn't we pitiable creatures of woes.

Did you hear that?

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:00:00 +0000

Recently in a sermon by Dn Philip Shee, he pointed out that many tend to listen sermons for others. What does he meant by that??

How often do you find yourself acknowledging within you that such-and-such a person should listen carefully to this sermon - it is so relevant to them! They should change their ways just like the speaker suggested or just as God requires....

That is exactly, what Dn Philip meant. It hits me like a brick! Although, I do not consider myself more righteous then others or having the "holier than thou" attitude... I can't help but realize that I do, at times listen for others - quite naturally.

Could it be our upbring and/or education system that had inculcated this natural trait of comparing ourselves with others? And usually, it is against our stronger capabilities that we'll affirm ourselves that we're better. Just like the parable below....

Lk 18:10-14 - "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

We often tend not to reflect upon ourselves in most situations... and most quickly assumed it was someone elses fault.

Lord Jesus highlighted that is often not good to indulged ourselves in such behavior without checking on ourselves frequently. This will led us to be proud or worst becoming a hypocrite, just like the Pharisee in the above parable.

Lk 6:41-42 - "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother`s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother`s eye."

I thank God that I'm generally conscious of my thought, words and actions. Often the first thing that comes into mind is to reflect upon myself to see if I, too was guilty. I think this is a trait that I've to be thankful to my parents too, who had often taught me and reminded me of the need to always consider our actions and be considerate to others.

Since such comparison come naturally to us, it would be good if we also consciously learn to empathize with the others that we're compairing with and ask God to help them. At the same time, be conscious of what we had just done and reflect upon ourselves that we're not found guilty of the same.

May God help us all....

Always possible to "U" turn

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:52:00 +0000

Another interesting learning raised during the neighborhood fellowship bible study wrt 1Sam 18, was the character of King Saul.

We knew since a few chapters before, King Saul had sinned and God was displeased with him and had actually got Samuel to anoint David to be king over Isreal. As described in 1 Sam 18:10 - "an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, ..." - King Saul's favour before God had continued to whirl downward while he still seems to be unaware of his situation.

Many times, he had tried to kill David and failed. Did King Saul not know what he did was wrong? I believe he might have considered his actions and his evil schemes but sin and jealousy may have blinded him to this fact.

OR may be, King Saul might have felt that he is too deep into sin to turn back and therefore continue to ignore his mistakes. Just like what he did in 1 Sam 28:6-8 - "....Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, Divine unto me, I pray thee, by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee." - King Saul knows very well what he did was wrong and definitly not pleasing to God, therefore he disguised himself to seek after the medium.

Given this two hypothesis, consider how familiar these might sounds to us or someone we knew. Have you found yourself or someone you know, in the same situation where they felt that there is no "U" turn for them anymore and that God is not listening to their prayers or had forsaken them?

These are very simple and convincing reasons that we gives to ourselves for not turning up to church services or to just continue doing what we knew is wrong.....

My advice is... quickly perish such thoughts! If there is really no "U" turns then Jesus would have came to die for nothing. If God had taken the trouble to come personally to became a sacrifice for our sins - how can there be no "U" turns?!

The question lays in whether we are willing to put on the brakes and retrospect on our actions and resolve to turn from the wrongs that we were doing. Repent sincerely before the Lord and confess our sins to Him. Depending on the seriousness of our sins, it is all up to God to forgive and accept us again.

I sincerely believe that if we truly repeat from the evil that we do, we'll have His compassion.

Therefore, if you're in such situation... don't give up on yourself. God have not given up on you!

1 Jn 3:20 - "...if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things."
1 Jn 4:8 - "....for God is Love"

Is there EVIL found in GOD?

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:09:00 +0000

An interesting question was raised during our home fellowship bible study while we read 1 Samuel 18.

In 1 Sam 18 v 10 - "And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul,...." - this verse clearly stated that there is evil spirit coming from God...! Is that possible?

The bible tells us clearly in 1 John 1 v 5 - "....God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." and in 2 Cor 6 v 14 - "....for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness?" - there is no EVIL can be found in God.

How? Is the bible contradicting itself?

It was then pointed out that the word "evil" here does not refers to the devil or any thing similar. Instead, it is used to describe a judgmental action to be carried out by an angle of God. We can draw on the context from the following examples:

2 Kings 21v12-13 - "therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, ....And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, ....."

2 Kings 21 v 15 - "because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day."

In the first example, God says He will brings "evil upon Jerusalem".... the reason is found in the second example. In many instances in the bible, we know that God uses many different ways to bring judgment on His people when they sinned against Him and often, He uses man to carry out His judgment e.g. by allowing the enemy of Isreal to oppress them.

We read from 1 Kings 22 v 19-23 - "I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him. And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee." here, we can clearly understands that "evil work" of causing people to lie was carried out by an angle (spirit).

So the conclusion to this question is, there is NO EVIL to be found in God.

God is LOVE.

A God that cares......

noreply@blogger.com (Amex.F) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 05:26:00 +0000

Found this short clip which reflects our belief in God.

Our heavenly father is definitly different.... for He not only tells us how to come back to Him by the Word that He had left with us - the Bible. He also came down from His heavenly throne to deliver us and with great love shares in our suffering that we, who are in dire need may seek Him - "Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death..." (Heb 2:14)

For He is One who understands, all our fears and need.... "For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need." (Heb 4:15-16)

Jn 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life".