GrAcE

It's My Turn Now! =)

2009-09-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today i'm taking my first tiny step towards a great destination. I'm excited, at the same time, anxious. I know there'll be many trials and challenges and difficulties waiting for me to overcome in order to make me a good doctor of Christ.

"O Lord, as long as You are with me, i'll fear not. Be with me like how have u been with King David, Daniel, Elijah, Elisa and the great apostles of Yours. If King Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the Kingdom, I'll ask for wisdom as well, at the same time, I'll ask God to always fills my heart with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Lord, be with me till the end. Amen!"

Patiently Waiting...

2009-08-20T00:04:00.000-07:00

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
(Ecclesiates 3:1-9,11)

Lord, no matter what the season I am in now, give me the peace and the guidance that I need. I'll wait patiently for my time to begin my journey to become a doctor of Yours. While I'm waiting, teach me how to make good use of my time. AMEN!

Not HOW but WHO

2009-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrew 12:1-2)

When God called Abraham to leave his country and venture into a foreign land where God promised to make it his inheritance; Abraham believed and he went.

When Moses and the Israelites came before the Red Sea with the Egyptian chariots pursuing closely, they were despaired for there were nowhere to turn, God asked Moses to lift up his staff. With faith Moses raised his staff and the Red Sea was parted, the Israelites walked across it on dry ground but the enemy was drowned.

When the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness for forty years, they were worried that they would starve and thirst to death, but every morning before the sun came out, God sent them manna from the Heaven and gave them water from the Stone. Everyone was well fed.

When the Israelites came before the insurmountable Jericho Wall, God asked them to march around it for 7 days; the whole army marched obediently and the Wall collapsed on the 7th day and the Jericho was captured.

What do you learn from all these great history (His Story)?
If you think God is teaching you some good ways to deal with different problems in your life, examples:
· Next time when someone calls me to do something, I will just do it.
· Next time when I want to cross ocean, I will get a staff and lift it up.
· Next time when I go camping whenever I hungry and thirsty, I will sit down and look at the sky and put a stone beside me.
· Next time when I forget my keys, I will march around my house…
Of course above scenarios are bit exaggerated, surely God will give us wisdom from all these testimonies to face our respective struggles and trials and challenges in life. But I believe the greatest lesson that God want us to learn is not the “HOW” but the “WHO”.

Abraham knew that God is faith to His promises so in faith he moved into the foreign land.
Moses knew God is the Deliverer so in faith he raised the staff.
The Israelites survived in the wilderness, for God is the One who Provide.
The Jericho Wall collapsed for the battle is of the LORD, He is the Conqueror.

When we truly know the “WHO” behind our “HOW”, then only our measures to overcome our difficulties will gradually make sense and it will slowly become effective and powerful and meaningful, and we will face the challenges in life with confidence, with perseverance and with hope.

I pray that you will come to see who God is behind every testimony you heard, and may you also have your own story to share with others. Even though the process will not be a pleasant one, I believe it will be a worthy one, for God is with us we shall not fear.

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Who is God

2008-12-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

My God is a Trinity God
God the Father
God the Son, Jesus Christ, and
God the Holy Spirit

He is the Creator of this whole universe
Things that can be seen and things that cannot be seen
All are created by Him, sustained by Him and listened to Him
The heaven declare the glory of God
The skies proclaim the work of His hands

He is a gracious and faithful Father
Full of grace, full of love, full of mercy
He is a great Teacher
Full of wisdom, full of understanding, full of knowledge

He is a trustworthy Friend and Counsellor
He knows me better than anyone in this world, and
He will show me how to bring the best out of me
He sees the man whom I will be, and
He will never cease to work in me till the work comes into completion
He understands my weakness and my struggles, and
He will always be there to help me to overcome them
He knows my heart
He knows my desire
He knows that I love Him
He knows that I want to see His glory display
He knows that I want to be a useful vessel for Him
He knows that I am not perfect
He knows that I am powerless
He knows that I will fall in the future
He knows me
He knows my name
He knows my heart

Thus
He says
Trust Me
Abide in Me
Follow Me
Believe Me
Know Me
I AM WITH YOU

So
Dare to seek, and
You will find
Dare to ask, and
You will receive answer
Dare to knock, and
The door will be opened to you
Dare to dream,
I will show you more
Dare to believe,
I will show you greater things
Dare to proclaim,
I will uphold them
Dare to try even though you are uncertain,
I will guide you to the right path

As long as your heart is in-tune with Mine,
Fear no evil
Fully alive
Go
Run
Fly
Shout it out
Let the whole world know that
My God is mighty to save
My God is worthy of all praises

My God, My God, My God
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory

Thank You, O Lord! Amen!

Break Free!

2008-11-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

I always think that my walk with God is pretty good: I know God well and I love Him a lot and I want to follow Him whenever He goes. At least this is what I believe I am. Not until last Saturday, God spoke to me during the prayer time I had after the committee meeting; that night the conviction of the Holy Spirit was so strong that I hardly could bear it. It was just like what Isaiah experienced while he met God in the Temple, and my heart was crying out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a KILLER as I have been killing the glory of God, I have been preventing the light of God from shining before men and I have become a stumble block for people to come to Christ.” This revelation was so heartbreaking; I was crying inside… how could I do such thing to God!

Bro.Kevin shared last Sunday: what are the things that stopping you from getting closer to God? Hindering you from living the fulfilled life that God promised? Preventing your light from shining? It seems like there is a WALL blocking us from going any further in our devotion toward God.

Bro.Kevin has been asking us, “Do you know the WALL that you are facing today?” And now I would like to ask you this question: if today you know the wall, are you breaking it? If not, why are you not breaking the wall? This is the question that came to me on that Saturday night and God was demanding an immediate respond from me… He is saying, “STOP LOOKING AT THE WALL AND WHINING! NOW START BREAKING IT! YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE IF YOU DO NOT DO IT NOW! I HAVE ENOUGH OF YOUR EXCUSES AND DEFILED (half-hearted) RESPONDS!”

That night my heart was restless.

My wall: my relationship with my roommate, who is also my group mate. I have shut myself totally from him and refused to have any proper interaction with him.
Why: my pride and my KiaSu-ism (the spirit of competitiveness)

It is always good to desire to do the right things; it always makes us feel very good because if we desire to do the right thing, we are still on the right track with God. We will feel even great if we are trying to put the desire into action. Stress: TRYING. We all must be very careful with these statement, “I’m trying!”; “At least I’m trying!”; “I’m making a bit of improvement!” etc. I am not here to dismiss /disregard anyone who says it sincerely and who is trying hard to overcome the obstacle in their life. I am here to warn you of the hidden trap that Satan has subtly and cunningly placed it there.

This challenging friend and I has been group mate for almost 5 years and we have just become roommate last year. Even though it is difficult for me to like him, AT LEAST I AM TRYING to treat him nicely. For the Scriptures tells us to love your enemy and do good to your enemy; repay evil for good; and (this is the best part) do not expect any return when you help someone in need. God has spoken to me countless of times, and I did prayed about this problem, I told my accountability group of this struggle, I confessed it openly to people and asked them to keep me in prayer, and sometime I even use this example as a teaching tool during bible study. Because all these while, I AM TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING and I DID MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENT. (examples)
So am I working hard to overcome this wall in my life so far?

‘True trying’ and ‘pseudo trying’
True trying brings progression and changes, and you will hear the cracking of the wall; while pseudo trying brings you nowhere, you still standing in front of the wall, smelling and fussing at it.
True trying brings joy and encouragement and strength; while pseudo-trying brings misery and grumbling.
True trying refreshes the spirit; while pseudo-trying kills the spirit.
True trying bless people and makes your light shines before men, that people may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven; while pseudo-trying makes you losing your saltiness and hiding your light under the bowl.
Last but not least,
True trying is breaking the wall; while pseudo-trying is building the wall.

That night God revealed my pseudo-trying and wanted me to take the first step of true trying, God wanted me to break the wall now. And I tell myself, “This time I really want to get my life right with God.”

After the prayer time while waiting for Bro.Kevin to send me back to hostel, I was struggling inside my heart, my mind and my soul. It was very unbearable. one part of me wanted to it tonight while the other part of me was pursuing me to wait till tomorrow so that I would have time to sort things out and to come out with a good plan. It is exactly like what Paul shared in Roman 7:14-25, struggling with sin.

That night when I return to my room as I opened my door, the room was dark. I saw my roommate was sleeping. I kind of relieved as it seemed like I got time to properly sort my thought out (excuse!). But God refused to let me have rest, and He wanted me to go down to 4th floor to ask my accountability group, Kevin or Kwong Yew, to be my watchman. I took my water bottle to Ivan’s unit to refill. While refilling the water bottle, I was looking at Kevin’s room door, it seemed pretty quiet inside, so I thought maybe I shouldn’t disturb him now as it was already late. But God once again shouted at me, “STOP IT! KNOCK THE DOOR NOW!”

Finally I knocked the door, Kevin was there drawing. We talked, and halfway, Kwong Yew appeared at the common hall and he joined us. I asked them to make sure I talk to my roommate tonight. After we prayed, I went back to my room and woke my roommate up and we talked. We were going to rebuild our relationship.

That night my heart was full of joy. I could see the wall which was hindering my devotion to God was breaking down. I had been set free in my heart, in my mind and in my soul. IT WAS SO GOOD! GOD IS GREAT!

So here is the second lesson: every day we are in spiritual battle, especially when we set our mind to obey the voice of God, Satan will start to attack your determination fervently. And usually he wants you to delay your action. This is a critical moment, either you submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7) or you listen to him and focus at the ‘signs of waiting’ and be assure you will still standing in front of the wall, looking, smelling and fussing at it.

So brothers and sisters, what is the wall you are facing today? Are you breaking it now? If not, why?

For me, the wall is my broken relationship with my roommate. What is yours? Is it your broken relationship with someone? Is it some sins that you are refusing to let go? Is it your commitment to God? Is it your devotion to God? Is it the love of this world? Is it your selfish desire? The list goes on and on and on and on. Regardless what it is, a wall is still a wall, you are going nowhere unless you break it today. Your devotion is not going to go any higher, your faith is not going to go any deeper, and your love is not going to go any wider and you are not going to last any longer in the race.

I have been a fool for a long time, so do not be like me.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion… be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears and turn and be healed. (Hebrew 3:7-13, Isaiah 6:9-10)

We are greatly in debt to God and to the soul of people around us. Don’t let that wall make you a God’s glory killer and God’s light shutter, and prevent someone from seeing God. Break the wall now!

Shared this with my church on 2/11/08, pray that it would be an encouragement them to seek after God. My prayer to you is that you may experience more of God in your life. Amen! =)

You are fearfully wonderfully made by God

2008-07-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

Just Think

You're here not by chance but by God's choosing.

His hand formed you and make you the person to no one else--

you are one of the kind.

You lack nothing that His grace can't give you.

He has allowed you to be here at this time in history

to fulfill His special purpose for this generation

Roy Lessin

Just wanna let u know that you and me are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him and no one is considered as unworthy before Him. =) Rejoice my friends!

Today is a PRESENT!

2008-06-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

"Today is History, Tomorrow is Mystery, BUT Today is a Gift... that's why it is called 'PRESENT'."

This is one of the lines that i copied from the movie, KungFu Panda, where the master WuWei encourages the disappointed Panda to believe in himself when people around him do not believe the fatty him is the chosen one. Thou it is a short phrase, it has brought great joy and amazement to my heart as it has profoundly revealed the grace that God has shower to everyone in this world.

Grace, how would you define this word? One of the good definition I have heard so far is that Grace is when you get what you don't deserve, and Mercy is when you don't get what you deserve. For me, instead of straining my head to come out with the best definition for the word, I would prefer to discover the grace that God is pouring in my everyday life.

Today is a gift to you and to me. It is a PRESENT from God to everyone who is breathing now. The Bible tell us that we are breathing now because God breathe into man the breath of life and man become a living soul. That's why I am so grateful that every morning I can wake up with a deep breath and enjoy the aroma of freahy brew coffee. =)

Have you ever seen a death body? I saw many while I was having my forensic class, and I had even dissected one for post-mortem study. It was a thought provoking experience... when man is breathing, he is a human just like you and me, but once the breath of life left man, no matter how great or how little one's life was, 'man' has become a 'lifeless object' or we can call it 'thing'. This reminds me of the Scriptures saying, our body is just a temporary home for our soul. So one of the crucial questions which we need to ponder: have you found your eternal home?

For me, I believe the Bible has provided me THE ANSWER. I pray that you can give it a try. =) Till then let enjoy our everyday life as it is a PRESENT that is given by the love and the grace of God. Make the best out of everyday alrite. =)