Watch and Pray (posted on: 04/02/2008)
it’s scary, everywhere around me now, it’s scary. i know that God’s still in control, i know that He still keeps the world spinning, i know of His great love displayed through Christ, i know that He will have the final victory. but it’s scary, i fear something, i fear this disease that sweeps through the entire Christian race, that plagues every single IB student in ACS.
i fear prayerlessness.
i see it welling up from within me, this lack of prayer. i despise it, ask God to change my sinful ways, but i continue to falter. God reminds me of His love for me, and that He will forgive me for failing to pray enough. but i continue to wonder why i falter again and again. it’s as if, the one thing that the devil wants to keep us from – is prayer. and he’s a wily one, he’s a smart one, a crafty one, because, evidently, he’s succeeded.
yes. the devil has succeeded in making us believe in so many lies;
firstly, that there are always more important things than prayer – things like schoolwork, relationships. people tell me (and i tell myself quite often) that they have to maintain a good testimony through their schoolwork. that is true. that is true to a point where creating such a good testimony becomes something we do with our own strength, that we begin to neglect prayer. that is true to a point that we begin to neglect our prayers for everyone else around us – especially our prayers for the unsaved.
secondly, that our prayers are useless; sure, we say that we believe in prayer, so many of us do. but how many of us really believe in the power of prayer? actions speak louder than words. and if i were to look at myself and the rest of us in ACS, i would say that we’re lying to ourselves!!! if indeed we believed that prayer was powerful, why do we spend only a tiny fraction of our lives on it. if indeed we found the cure for fruitlessness, the cure for a certain ailment, why do we only apply so little of it to our lives? don’t get me wrong, longer time spent on prayer does not necessarily mean better prayer – it’s the heart. but yes, how many of us actually find prayer a true joy, not a burden, that we spend time on it?!
thirdly, that our effort is enough. so many of us depend on human strength and wisdom. how silly. the devil laughs at us in our faces. our efforts alone are futile. the main cause of fruitlessness is prayerlessness; the main cause of us stumbling into temptation is praylessness – had not Jesus warned us to watch and pray that we would not fall into temptation? the main cause of us losing passion and losing strength is – yet again – prayerlessness!
my friends. i fear this prayerlessness that so consumes us. i fear this all talk no action. i fear myself, that even as i type these words of exhortation to all of you, that i will forget to pray later, or fall asleep during prayer later.
my friends, it’s time to pray like never before. the Father is most glorified through our asking in prayer. He loves us and will – and wants to – answer us. go running back to Him in prayer. it’s the only way to a more fulfilling life in Christ, it’s the only way to more fruit in ministry, it’s the only way to please Him. It’s the only way that our non-Christian friends are going to be saved!!!
please. don’t let this world distract you.
please. don’t keep God searching for an intercessor anymore.
please. don’t let the devil steal your greatest weapon from you.
obedience is better than sacrifice (posted on: 20/12/2007)
the feeling of being back from japan is simply amazing. the cool wind blows through one’s tuffs of hair, bringing with them the refreshing evening sensation; i suddenly feel a ton lighter with two less layers of clothing. and it was a pleasant surprise finding no homework whatsoever in my email (: and thank God for bringing everyone back safely, i really missed all of you (: — ah my hands aren’t numb!! yay!
anyway. i’ve been reading on the story of Saul in 1 Samuel, and one thing astonishes me – that is the blindness of Saul. at times, Saul felt with unshakable conviction that he was following the will of God, that he was obeying God. Even after God’s spirit had left him, he persisted in his wrongdoings, yet felt he was obeying God. He disobeyed the Lord’s command to kill off all the Amalekites, spared the king Agag and the best of the cattle and sheep for sacrifice. But Samuel corrected him, and we all know the story.
put this in a modern context – are we blind to His way? do we feel that we’re on the right track though we’re not?
have we tried to justify our wrong ways with ’spiritual’ things?
say one day God asks you to give up something. but you choose to hang on. whilst hanging on you continue to justify your means, perhaps saying that you’ll hang on to glorify Him. maybe it’s your current ministry. and you choose to hang on, in hopes to glorify Him. but He had better plans. plans that you chose not to obey. i doubt the Lord will be pleased. ah well. we all need Samuels in our lives to enlighten us
lots of questions. too much to say. let’s leave it hanging.
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and while we’re at it…since kenneth dug up that issue on surrender…that lesson from KK, maybe, i few reflections on that simple, yet excruciatingly difficult word.
surrender – is obedience. i think there’s no better word. it’s a fear of the Lord. it’s obedience. and it’s just trusting and following His way. obedience is better than sacrifice.
surrendering – is an attitude. unless you’re ready to obey whatever step the Lord reveals to you, the Lord would usually hold back on revealing that next step to you
surrender – is committing your will to God’s will. and praying with Jesus that all-important line of his prayer in the garden of Gethsamane: “thy will be done, not mine”
and perhaps. i too have much more to learn. so we pray that God will teach us.
3 Messages for Everyone (posted on: 04/12/2007)
and so i decided today, to post much, after all, i’ll be off soon on church youth camp, missing every one of you. and whilst you’re all doing your own stuff – whether it be daily living, or mission trip, or what not – i do hope to leave with you guys a portion of myself, the incredibly rich lessons that God first taught me in the past trying week. (: i’m no pastor, i’m not perfect, hardly higher on the spiritual plane, but these messages are a part of me that i hope to share. to encourage, to build up, and to strengthen all my dear brothers and sisters. (that would be you (: ) haha.
so here we go. three messages. do take time to reflect and digest them ya? hope it’ll be a blessing to each and every one of you, for the glory of God. and (ah, i’m starting to sound like i’m leaving on a jet plane and never coming back haha) take care. (:
MESSAGE 1: HOPE AND BEING STRONG
after faith and love, i thought, at least post something on hope. (:
Psalms 27:14 “Wait for the Lord, Be Strong and Take Heart and Wait for the Lord”
the message is simple; wait for the Lord; wait for Him to do what He has to. remember the lesson of Moses striking the rock too soon – and simply wait, because the Lord knows best. there’s patience involved, the grief may stay, the pain may stay, but wait patiently, and be sure that one day we will see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living (v13)
but. it was only today that God opened these eyes of mine to see the greater significance behind the verse.
there was one day i decided to venture down to school for a little while; one of those days when i was rather bothered by the fact that i had made it through to the second round of Bio Olympiad and so was robbed of whatever time i had left to do whatever i would have liked to do (evidently, i’m still left with much time, but well); and so i met up with John in school, and together, we enjoyed the fellowship of listening to songs on the Zen Neeon II, for at least the next hour or so, seated on a bench at the roundabout.
of course, like in any meaningful fellowship, we decided to end off with a prayer session atop on the balcony (Kenneth’s territory (: ) and there, we both prayed for a word; a word which we asked God to give us; a word which would guide us through the coming year. that intimidating year 2008.
i recall the word. it was clear as crystal: Courage
the verse was no coincidence:
Have i not commanded you? Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go”
Courage. and strength.
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Psalms 27:14 “Wait for the Lord, Be Strong and Take Heart and Wait for the Lord”
and so i’ve been meditating on the word ’strength’, even in the midst of a trying time now, and God has opened my eyes – so i shall share (as a good person would always do). Psalms 27:14 was a verse which brought much hope and strength when my life was shrouded in darkness. it taught me to hope, and hope like never before, but i had always overlooked the portion on strength. and i wonder. what is this strength all about?
just a few days back, i read the story of Samson. the bible says that whenever he performed a mighty display of physical strength, “the Spirit of the Lord (first) came upon him”. Samson’s story was one of physical strength, but in this time and age, we all need moral strength to stand up as light in the darkness; and we all need the strength to continue putting our hope in God, and trusting our whole lives to Him. we need the strength to hold fast to Him. and our strength comes from none other than God Himself!
“God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalms 73:26
“His strength is made perfect in our weakness..” 2 Corinthians 12:9
“The joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10
(can i hear a big ‘Amen’ to that?) it’s so true, our strength comes from the Lord!
and so, even hoping in the Lord requires so much strength. pray for that strength! pray for the Spirit to come upon you so that you may be empowered. and keep hoping in the Lord. and here i am, exhorting the rest of you to hope, only because i have been taught that i too must hope in the Lord, even in a time when everything seems fuzzy.
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MESSAGE 2: SOBERING UP AND PRAYFULNESS
and next. sobering up.
“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled (sober)” 1 Thess 5:6
recently, i’ve heard much, especially from the mission’s team, about sobering up. beyond all the post-training card games, the bridge, the fantastic fellowship, there’s a need to be sober, and to be alert. does it mean no games, no fun at all? i doubt so, the meaning of soberness is much deeper, and we hope to explore that together.
first, there’s an incredible need, for every one of us, to be sure of our purpose in whatever we may be doing; and simple as it sounds, there is only one purpose that we can do anything for – the glory of God. it’s that simple, the bible puts it forward in the most direct of manners:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” Colossians 3:23
so for you all on the missions’ team; i do pray you’ll remember the one purpose for being there among the people of Khon Kaen – you are there to be a light to the nations, to be God’s tools, to be a channel of blessing that God can work through! – everything is for the glory of God. when you love someone – it’s to the glory of God because God commanded us to love one another. when you share the message of the gospel – it’s also to the glory of God.
Be on guard against thinking of the mission trip as a simple time for fellowship, or (even worse, God forbid) as a holiday with a difference. there will be a place for fellowship, but beyond all that, have a sober, focused mind, and remember your purpose. Also, watch against going on the mission trip just to justify your own spiritual well-being. stuff like ‘hey i’m going on the mission trip, i must be a real Godly person. wow.’ that would be doing things for yourself – not for God. truth is, you may go on the mission trip, and yet return as empty as you left.
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and there’s a deeper meaning to soberness. we find that in 1 Thessalonians5:6, there is mention of the word ‘asleep’. When one is not sober, one is asleep – now, this brings another verse to mind (wow, so God-inspired, he just pointed the verse out to me. thank God)
“watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. the spirit is willing, but the body is weak” Mark 14:38
yes. to be sober also means to stand guard against sin and temptation! put on the armor of God and take care! stand guard for the devil is prowling nearby. Occupy the land that the Lord has given to you to possess (that land, is your own spiritual well-being, and also the well-being of your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ). My dear brothers and sisters, we are entering the great spiritual battlefield! and the spiritual warfare begins not with attacking the devil’s territory, but with protecting the territory that the Lord has already endowed upon us! We must guard our own lives!
“Be self-controlled (sober) and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8
and what better way to guard our lives and remember our purpose than to keep praying! the greatest sin of this age is the sin of prayerlessness!
“God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” 1 Sam 12:23
we have not prayed enough. my greatest sin, and all of ours, is that of prayerlessness. we find that most of our failures can be traced back to the lack of prayer. the lack of souls saved in ministry is usually the lack of prayer, and not the lack of preaching and trying. when we lack wisdom, it’s usually because we do not pray enough for wisdom or for guidance. when we fall into temptation, it is because we have not watched and prayed! such is the horrible sin of prayerlessness!
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pray is fundamental. my dear brothers and sisters. don’t forget to pray and be sober. it’s the only we can keep ourselves from falling into the darkness. and i too need to pray more. and pray, whilst knowing that it’s not about how much we pray, it’s also about the heart behind that prayer, and at the very end, when God answers, we receive in humility. we do not receive in a manner which expects Him to give us what we were supposed to receive. because none of it was meant to be ours in the first place.
so pray. pray and watch God move the mountains. then give Him praise (:
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MESSAGE 3: LAYING DOWN YOUR ISAAC
and finally, the last, but probably the most painful and the most intense message. about laying down your Isaac.
i found today, much to my surprise, as i was praying to God, an incredible yet simple revelation – let’s see if everyone can spot the pattern in the verses below:
“The Lord had said to Abram:”leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you (Abraham)” ” Gen 12:1
“then God said: “take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains i will tell you about” Gen 22:2
“the Lord our God said to us at Horeb. ” You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp an advance into the hill country of the Amorites…” Deut 1:6
“So they (Simon Peter, John and James) pulled their boats up ton shore, left everything and followed him.” Luke 5:11
the pattern is this: when God calls people, it usually comes with a price. there is a price for believing in Jesus. Yes, grace and salvation comes freely, but there will come a time when God will demand more and more of us as we grow closer to Him. i’ve realised this – and i’ve said this before – that God loves to place His hands on things that mean a lot to You. not to torment you, but to test you and to know if you truly fear Him above all else.
for Abraham, it was his family and his son; for Moses, his life as a shepherd; for Simon Peter, his familiar life as a fisherman out at sea; for the Israelites the comforts of Horeb; for Jesus, it was His majesty in heaven.
And so. what is it for you? what has God called for you to leave behind? and have you left it behind…truly?
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are you looking for a breakthrough in your life with God? does the Christian walk seem mundane, repetitive, and does it seem like you’ve reached a point where everything is just dull?
usually, the dullness is due to the fact that, maybe we haven’t done something God’s been wanting us to do for a long time. maybe we haven’t left that life of sin; maybe we haven’t obeyed him in something He’s told us to do – so He’s withholding from us the next step. Dullness may also be due to sin in our life, prayerlessness – in that case, repent and pray. Dullness, maybe also be because we haven’t truly let go of everything to follow Jesus.
well. first. it’s necessary to examine oneself. just a few weeks back i was struggling with prayerlessness, with a Christian walk that had become a little stagnant, personally i was quite afraid that i was backsliding. upon examination, God told me that there were still things in my life that had to be surrendered to Him – this despite the fact that i had previously thought that i had already given everything up. at first, i rationalized, but later, i learned to fear and obey Him
we too must be open to what God has to say, we must be ready to obey no matter what he says. Abraham left everything. He took his dad along at first, but God remained quiet till his dad had passed away and till Lot had gone off to Sodom. we must obey. and fear him.
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are you still holding on to something dear? have you laid down your Isaac on the altar?
it could be anything, it could be the grades you’re chasing and putting high up on the pedestal; it could be the materialistic nature in you that leads you to crave after every commodity in the world; it may be a person you hold on dearly to; it may even be your ministry for God.
but until you’ve let go of everything to God. you will never understand what it is like to be truly liberated, to be truly joyful, and to be truly living a life for God. there is much joy in letting go. there is joy-mingled grief.
strangely. i’ve found it liberating. i thought it would be painful. it was. it made me cry. but later on, it made me realize a lot more about Christ. once you’ve let go of what is dear to you, God becomes dearest to you. and you’ll love Him and search for Him with all your heart mind and soul. and that truly is liberating!
and why let go? because it was God’s in the first place wasn’t it? everything was made for His glory, and ought to be given back to Him. He is the God who gives and takes away. and we must remember that even after giving up that which means much to us, we must keep praising the Lord! keep blessing His name! keep being joyful! (:
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it is the the discipline of self-denial that we must learn to master.
the truth is, when you hold on to something. it usually has a very subtle grip on you. something menacing which you not yet notice. but it is a place where the bad guys can gain a stronghold on you. all they need to do is manipulate that something to upset you, or discourage you. we cannot let our fervor for God be affected by something else!
once we have learned to deny ourselves of something or someone, we no longer are possessed by that person or that something, but we are possessed by God, and fully for His purpose and His glory. Such was Abraham, he was fully consecrated for God after that test of laying Isaac on the altar.
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so come, take your Isaac, head up Moriah, and truly truly discover what it means to be free in Christ! (:
“”in the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” Luke 16:33
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so that ends it. be blessed all. cya all (: Amen.
have you struck the rock? (posted: 14/10/2007)
we all know the story in Numbers 20; that familiar story of Moses in the desert of Kadesh; after 40 years of exile in the desert, the Lord brought the Israelites full circle, back to the place where their forefathers had rebelled against Him and refused to enter the promise land due to a lack of faith and obedience; and at that very same place, the issue of water arose again; the people complained about the lack of water, the lack of food, they lashed out at Moses in the same way their forefathers did;
and Moses consulted the Lord. the Lord asked him to take His staff and to speak to the rock, that water may flow out of the rock. Moses listened, but later, in a fit of rage and impulse, the very culmination of the frustration of 40 years of exile, Moses struck the rock with His staff – just like He had been told to d 40 years back.
water gushed out. but God was upset. he was upset that Moses had not honored Him in the presence of the Israelites; and that Moses had not had enough faith to do what he had been told. Because of that moment of impulse, the Lord denied him entry into the promise land.
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and what do we have to learn from this. perhaps we’re all wondering. but there’s a crucial, crucial lesson that i hope to share with everyone today; something that God has been impressing on my heart – because, like Moses, i think i have struck the rock.
how many times have we prayed a prayer of faith, vowing to trust God and follow Him, and yet when the time comes, we take things into our own hands, we rely on human wisdom, and we simply strike the rock?
and thereafter, we lament and wonder why God had not listened to our prayer.
the truth is, God did answer, God did show the way, but we had not enough faith to trust Him with that way, and perhaps, in ignorance, in a rash move, in a foolish risk, we took our own way which we deemed best — and ended up making a greater mess of things. surely, God would be frustrated, he tried to make things better, He would have made things better, but we decided to interfere and make it worse.
but God is merciful. and He will forgive; and somehow, He already knew that we would make that rash decision; He will pardon, as long as we return in repentance.
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life, is like a trip through a blizzard; you can’t see beyond 10 feet ahead of you; the snow under your feet is close to a foot deep; it’s easy to get lost, it’s easy to lose sight of where we’re going.
but there’s Jesus, he walks ahead of you; you can see His every footstep imprinted in the snow; his feet are so big, so wide – and you know the best way to walk is to simply step into his footsteps; your tiny feet following in his footsteps. you do so, and there is only one set of footprints at the end of it all — Jesus’ footsteps.
and yet sometimes, we stray, we go our own way, and suddenly, the footprints diverge, and you’ve got a set of your own – wandering in circles, lost in the many struggles of life. but Jesus calls you back. He keeps calling.
and so the question today is: have we struck the rock? have we chose to diverge and take things into our own hands despite having said a prayer of faith?
i do hope, that at the end of life, we will look back to find predominantly only one set of footprints — Our Lord Jesus’ (:
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and now. to life itself.
IPOD was madness. arrived with aching legs; had some rice crispies (oh you can’t start imagining how good they tasted..); had a good laugh; played our hearts out; had wonderful fellowship; and left with double-aching legs. (:
had some hakka yong tau foo that night – yes, first time in my life, cooked by my very own grandparents (: the filling was amazing, but i was quite tired by then, grumpy, and i recall darkness closing in on me, so i cuddled up in a corner of my aunt’s home and tried to sleep it away.
i wonder why, sometimes, we stretch out a helping hand, and it gets slapped quite badly, and yet we keep stretching it out; perhaps…does it ever reach a point where it would be better to stop trying?
and now. it seems like everything that’s done, is perceived as insincere. and one gets stuck in the valley, there doesn’t seem to be a way out. but there is one – and that’s Jesus.
yes. for You Lord, i will consider all things loss, in the light of knowing You.
we must all learn to sing that song — “Knowing You Jesus, knowing You, there is no greater thing (: “
When Passions Mount (posted: 23/07/2007)
right now. Christians all over the world are praying; news of the 23 Korean brothers and (mostly) sisters who have been taken hostage by the Taleban has spread like wildfire – across the technological realm, through messenger, sms – and now people all over the world are praying, for a powerful intervention by God. for a first time, perhaps the spiritual realm has never seemed more apparent, more bigger than our little personal spheres. and we pray, for a mighty God to intervene. last night’s prayers were answered – the deadlines delayed, what next.
sometimes, in this time and age, we ask ‘Where is God?’; we see the many wars, the bloodshed, the merciless killings, and in all honesty, we ask ‘Where is God?’ – we cannot simply say ‘it’s ok.’ – how can the death of so many innocent lives be a flippant ‘ok’. So where is God, why doesn’t He seem to be in control? why all the suffering, why the torrent of tyranny and anarchy?
but here’s the truth. God is in control. there are two sides to this coin. He has an appointed time for everything – an appointed time for the reign of evil, as much as an appointed time for the defeat of all the evil forces of the world. He is in control, watching, and there are reasons behind everything He determines. The whole world is in His hands.
We can’t be over optimistic – over naive; yet we cannot be defeatists, we cannot simply succumb to the fear and uncertainty. here’s the verse that sums it up, before Jesus leaves His disciples, He says that they will face much trouble in the world:
“But take heart, I have already overcome the world” (John 16)
what a promise. what a comfort.
and we pray on.
Learning to Rest (posted: 08/07/2007)
when Mary and Martha met Jesus, Martha was busy making preparations in the house, but Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, and simply listen to Him, to talk to Him, to learn about Him and to simply stare in amazement at him. so often we too are carried away by the many tasks of life – me included – that crowd out our minds and steal away the time that we ought to give to our Saviour. He’s just right beside us, but have we given Him notice? He tells us to cast our cares upon Him. and to rest in Him
The Lord’s Day, the Christian’s day of rest, of the same significance that the Sabbath has to the Jews, is a day to rest. not just a rest in the fantasy world of the computer, or the rest in the comfort of a warm bed, but a holy rest. it is a sacred time for God, an appreciation of God, a time of worship and meditation on Him. time indeed is sacred, shouldn’t we apportion a part of it back to the one who gave it to us?
a special day, set aside, not to a point of complete cessation of work – that would be unthinkable in today’s hurried life – but to a point where we are consciously reminding ourselves to be mindful of God and sensitive to His voice. sure, everyday should be a day unto the Lord as such, but if everyday were the same, chances are we would simply forget again. the Lord’s Day, Sunday, is a special day, set aside to remember God.
it too is an act of faith, when we stop work and realize that it is God who still keeps the world spinning and in motion, nothing to do with our own efforts. God upholds the world, and we trust Him to do so, but setting aside our work and going to Him (:
and that’s that. rest in Him. and discover His love and power again. discover the power of His voice and word. and glorify Him in everything (:
