Be Right Back

Just as Jesus is returning soon, I will be back soon to blogging due to my super intense period of studying.

Thought of the Day:

What can separate us from the love of God?

Our love can fail, but God's love will never ever fail. He made all things for the good of you and me. Take that.

Contract

Recently my mind has been stuffed up with all the information regarding Contract Administration. Moreover, I will be battling for exams for the coming weeks.

Relating to contract, little do I realize that almost everyone has gotten into a contract in some ways or the other. It can be the contract that we sign when purchasing house, land and car or contract that we sign for renting purposes, or just generally an agreement that we have agreed to with another party. Most contracts are legally enforceable which means both parties must abide to the law. Breaching the conditions stated in the contract can triggers legal action. Apart from that, it takes certain requirement for a contract to exist. It must need party to offer, party to accept, consideration, genuine consent of both parties and legality of objects.

However, the greatest contract that I have ever signed is not my contract with my scholarship provider, but my King Jesus.

God offered His one and only begotten Son, Jesus.

I, the wrecked and sinful person accepted the offer, knowing how unworthy I am.

Consideration: Freedom from the bondage and sin and most importantly, Salvation - Eternity.

The Contractual Fee: I paid Nil, Jesus was crucified on the Cross, He paid His life. Freely He gave, freely I received.

The nature of the contract is that I can fail, but God will never fail. To allow the contract to effect, it requires my obedience, faith, love, perseverance and so much more, more than just commitment. God on the other hand, pouring out His abundant Grace, Mercy, Love and Blessings. God is the party that will never withdraw nor will He possibly breach the contract. The contract is up to me to accept, keep or nullify.

I am the party who benefit from the contract. Does God, the other party gain? God He doesn't need me, but He wants me. He actually cares about me and that truly overwhelms me as I know how finite I am, wondering if God ever noticed me. I am the party that benefits greatly for as I entered the contract, I was given a new life. The old has gone and the new has come. Not only that, things and habits started changing. I have gone through and still going through process of transformation and renewal. Every single day, I drink from the living water and live by grace alone. I am empowered by the Spirit that lives in me after I signed the contract, and the Spirit convicts me of my sins and weaknesses. The Spirit bears great fruits in me, such as Joy, Peace, Love, Patience, Self-Control.... Nine of them. I desire all and I should have all and is free!

It is just weird, where on earth in any contract, that the other party actually wants the Best for you? My God does.

Argghhhh... Days and nights are not enough for me to pen down all the goodness and blessings since I entered into this contract. The greater things are still yet to come, so much more! I pray that the day the contract being terminated on earth, is when I depart from the world, leaving for my abode in heaven. I resolved to love Him and serve Him till my last moment.

On this day, would you want to sign this contract? A great journey ahead is awaiting you. Don't worry, you got nothing to lose!

A Cause for Everything

There is a cause for everything. Everything that happens. Everything that takes place. There is a motive for every action. There is a cause.

We go to school/uni for the cause of learning and bottling up knowledge.

We drive for the cause of convenience.

We consume medicine for the cause of recovery.

We battle for the cause of winning or to defeat the enemy.

We laugh for the cause of humour.

We save up for the cause of contingency or emergency.

We invest for the cause of gaining or returns.

There is a cause for every natural event too.

Christ died for the cause to save the world. That is the greatest cause.

Therefore, we should live for the cause of Christ. We should love for the cause of knowing Christ's unconditional, unfailing and unreserved love.

If you think you are not part of the plan, let me tell you that you are born for a cause. You are born for a reason. You just need to find the cause which can only be found in Christ. God knows your cause even when you are still in your mother's womb.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

We ought to live our life knowing that there is a cause for everything.

God knows us before we were born but after birth, many do not know Him or reject Him.

Do you have the cause?

Fool or Be Fooled

One can make himself/herself a fool for actually not knowing something that he or she thinks he or she knows.

We know that the Bible preaches the Truth. We know how precious the Word of God is. We know that only God is righteous and holy. But even some highly admirable preachers or people-pastors in the world often misquote the scripture or preach out of the context. It is sad but the saddest thing is when the people who hear actually believe the unsound preaching.

We must be wise in choosing whom we listen to and the books that we read in supplement to our belief of the Word and our walk with God. How can we be wise? The only way is to be soundly rooted in the knowledge and application of the Word of God.

Some preach the prosperity gospel. Ask them to preach the same message in the Forth World Countries that everyone should be rich and healthy. It is wicked. Some proclaim that Jesus is not the only way. Some preach salvation is through our works and we can work our way to gain. Some say mother Mary was a virgin her whole life.

Who gains out of our foolishness towards God's word? The devil.

It is not so much about labeling ourselves against Calvinism or Arminianism. It is about believing in what the Bible says! There is only one standard - God's standard, God breathed.

We can fool ourselves through our ignorance and shallow knowledge towards the Scripture. At the same time, we can fool the devil by equipping and armoured ourselves with deep knowledge and understanding towards the Scripture.

Do not Amen to every sentence that a preacher preaches. Amen only when you have welly digested and agree with the teaching.

Fool ourselves or fool the devil.

Fear God and read the Scripture in reverence and we shall gain wisdom.

How much do we know?

The Greatest Comfort

The greatest comfort is not how much someone else can cheer us up when we are down in spirit, or how much someone can speak words of healing into our broken heart when we are hurt, or how thankful we are towards those angels who give us a hand us in times of our greatest predicament or when someone else willingly shares our worries and burdens. The greatest comfort is knowing that God Is With Us.

In many parts of the Book of Isaiah, the prophecy about Jesus is made known. In Chapter 7:14b, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Yes! Our King Jesus Christ is Immanuel. The name Immanuel as we know means "God is with us". It is to convince us that God is able to rescue us from the downfall of this world and from our enemies. I believe there is a significant purpose for God to name Jesus "Immanuel". Most of the names of the characters in the Bible come with their specific meaning and if we examine the story of each character, his or her name is closely related to the life and who he or she is going to be.

We can't rely on human strength because we are imperfect and fallible. But our God will never fail. He is everlasting from eternity to eternity and even when the whole world collapses, He is still who He is. Regardless of the situation we are going through right now, there is Hope in Jesus. Big or small, He can handle all.

Psalm 23 - A Psalm of David

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

The promise of God is that He is faithful and He will never leave those who love Him. In darkness or trial, His sovereignty rules.

Isaiah 59:1, "Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear."

Cry and look to the mountain, where our help comes from, knowing that our God is Immanuel.

To know the comfort, we need to know Him first.

The Moment

Recently there was this little clip of a Mobbed Wedding being widely circulated on Facebook. It was a magnificent one and I believe most girls actually cried after watching it. It is not just a mobbed proposal, but a proposal plus wedding. Indeed, if I were the bride, I couldn't even dare to imagine what might have just happened after the entire session. It gonna be like "Oh my gosh, yesterday I was still in a relationship and everything was just typical and normal, but now I am wearing a wedding ring and I am married!" It was indeed a massive and creative mobbed proposal plus wedding, and some titled it as the greatest wedding on the earth, greater than the Royal Wedding.

Looking from the perspective of the man, it was just incredible. I couldn't fathom how many hundreds of hours and effort he had poured in, not to mention the numerical cost that he had to fork out. Hundreds of participants, dancers, crew, relatives, band and best friends flew in from different states, and parents for both side were invited. Moreover, massive choreography was portraited. Can you imagine the time and arena for practice and just to get hundreds of people coming together for one purpose? It was like a show, so perfectly done from different angles as being a spectator deriving from the clip. I do hope that it is a real one. Aha!

Everything aside, I have to salute and respect the man. He so wanted to marry her, and that revealed how much she meant to him and how much he valued her. At the same time, I gotta say as a man, I "hate" him as he had set an incredible benchmark and standard and causing more women out there dreaming of their romance and greatly escalated their expectation. Guys, SIGH!

Everything and the tremendous preparation was all meant for the significant moments, the big flabbergasted "YES", "I DO" and the exchange of ring to officially married the couple.

Likewise for Christians today, the moment we accepted Christ into our lives, we are accumulating and working towards the second coming of Jesus. I hope we are preparing for that. Those things include attending Sabbath service, cell group, prayer meeting, personal devotional time, ceaseless prayers unto God, sharing the Good News in the streets, serving God in different ministries etc. When we know Christ, we find our life purpose. There is this moment that all believers should greatly anticipate, which is the return of Christ in glory. However, it is not mere "working" towards our eternity. The Bible says we are saved not by our works, but by Grace alone through Faith. It is putting the belief and trust in God alone, and developing that intimate relationship with God daily. It is about living on a transforming life and walking through the ups and downs together with Christ. It is about knowing the Creator and craving to dwell in His presence.

Looking at the man in the video, no word can probably describe his love for his fiancee and that was justified through his action. Today, where is Christ's position in us? Is Christ still the First Love, or has Christ ever been our First Love? Do we love our God more than anything else?

Luke 14:26-27 says: "²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

Where is God's position in our life today? If Jesus is to return tomorrow, are we ready to receive Him?

Longing after You

"My dear Lord, I can but tell Thee that Thou knowest I long for nothing but Thyself, nothing but holiness, nothing but union with Thy will. Thou hast given me these desires, and thou alone canst give me the thing desired. My soul longs for communion with Thee, for mortification of indwelling corruption, especially spiritual pride. How precious it is to have a tender sense and clear apprehension of the mystery of godliness, of true holiness! What a blessedness to be like Thee as much as it is possible for a creature to be like its creator! Lord, give me more of Thy likeness; enlarge my soul to contain fullness of holiness; engage me to live more for Thee. Help me to be less pleased with my spiritual experiences, and when I feel at ease after sweet communings, teach me it is far too little I know and do. Blessed Lord, let me climb up near to Thee, and love, and long, and plead, and wrestle with Thee, and pant for deliverance from the body of sin, for my heart is wandering and lifeless, and my soul mourns to think it should ever lose sight of its beloved. Wrap my life in divine love, and keep me ever desiring Thee, always humble and resigned to Thy will, more fixed on Thyself, that I may be more fitted for doing and-suffering."

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

My soul longs after you. I have resolved that you are my one desire. Take this heart and make it whole again. In the midst of wilderness and as if the world has engulfed me, lift me out and pull me through. Show me your glory. What have I obtained? Who I am without you? Let me not drown in the tide of this world but in the sea of your grace. Yours forever.

Compromise

Compromise is a settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions. It might or might not require a mutual agreement or understanding.

In life, we compromise. Often when we find ourselves in a confrontation, the best way to retreat is to compromise. Football fans compromise their sleep by staying up late, to the extent of compromising their health and productivity in the following day. Businessmen compromise their integrity by adopting dirty tactics such as collusion and black market activity to maximize their profits. It can be quite frustrating when the surrounding environment has such an influence on us that we give in to compromise, even though it might not be our heart desire. We compromise often to our own convenience and benefit.

Everything aside, one thing that Christian must never compromise is one's relationship with God. In fact, God is not affected by our compromise. We are the one who receive all the outcomes. God is not affected when we love Him less. God is not affected when we lose faith in our prayer. God is not affected when we indulge in our sins. Perhaps we might think that God is upset with us, therefore, there is an emotional impact. The truth is that God is not limited. God is still able even when 50% of the Christians on this earth are wiped off. God still moves! God is not confined. We will always be the losing side if we compromise our relationship with God.

So, what are the areas that we need to watch out for?

1. We must not compromise Sin.

For God is holy, therefore sin is intolerable. Romans 12:1-21 talks about presenting ourselves as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Do not compromise with sin or temptation. When we give in to temptation, sin welcomes us. The truth is that, either we face God and turn away from Sin, or we face Sin and we turn away from God. God and Sin cannot co-exist. Jesus took on the Cross, reconciled and brought sin to powerless. Sin shall not reign in a believer's life.

2. We must not compromise our Faith.

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. If we compromise our faith, we will not receive what we are hoping for. The greatest enemy of faith is doubt. Doubt confuses us and leads us to question God's ability and timing. When we lose our faith, we will lose all the promises of God.

3. We must not compromise the Truth.

The Word of God is our way and key to life. Knowing that it is infallible, we must not allow our enemy to destroy the Word of God. There are horrendous false prophets and teachers prowling for their victims and their number will increase as one of the signs of the end of world. Are we able to defend and uphold the Truth no matter what? For when we let go the Truth, we are alienated from God. Therefore, immerse ourselves richly and deeply in the knowledge and understanding towards God's word so that we will not be easily shaken in time of trials.

4. We must not compromise our First Love.

God must be our First Love, not our parents or our partner. "For anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son and daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:37. Is God the priority in our life? When we know God, we know love. The greatest love that can change and turn the whole world upside down is not the human ability to love, but the love that was made known on the Cross. The greatest definition of Love is therefore, 1 Corinthians 13.

5. We must not compromise our Body.

Our body is the temple of God and the Spirit lives in our body. 1 Corinthians 6:19. Do not give in to sexual desires. Do not commit adultery or pre-marital sex. God forbid it for a good purpose. More than that, couple who are not yet married should not live under one roof. If we do, we are pushing ourselves into temptation. When it gratifies, death it is.

The list of areas that we must not compromise is never exhaustive. But lets examine and learn from two Bible characters in the area of compromise.

1. The story of Esau.

In the ancient times, the birthright was a very important and sacred thing. It belonged to the first born and he would also receive a chief portion of the inheritance. More than mere physical assets, it was also a spiritual position of the people of God. For a pot of stew, poor hungry Esau sold his birthright and the blessings from his father went to Jacob. One fatal mistake is enough to kill. Never make a decision when we are in the lows. Recently there was this news in China where a teenager sold one of his kidneys in exchange for cash to purchase Ipad 2. It might not be the most WOW case, the question is not about 'what is next', but 'who will be the next?'

2. The story of Solomon.

King Solomon was one of the wisest men that had ever lived yet one of the greatest fools. He inherited everything from his father, King David and was greatly blessed by God. In his early years, despite his youth and inexperience, his complete obedience and faithfulness to God had ensured his success in the later years. However, as feeble as you and me, he fell and compromised God's truth and commandments. He led himself to his own failure. He trusted his own wealth and political power more than in God. Although he did not reject God entirely by continuing to worship God, he compromised the Truth by tolerating all sorts of paganism such as keeping a harem of 1,000 women and worshipping the idols. The book of Ecclesiastes clearly recorded Solomon's agony and reflection over his life, from the high end to the pitfall.

Think about that. Think about the areas in our life when compromise seems to be the only option, where is God's position? God can never be compromised.

Solomon's example clearly teaches us that compromising what God says is right and acceptable can bring a heavy costly price.

I am as weak, and I am still learning to grow closer and deeper in the One whom image I carry.

Conviction

What does conviction mean to you? What is conviction? Conviction means "the act or process of convincing", "the state of being convinced" or "a fixed or strong belief about something". It can also refer to "the state of being convicted of sin, or by one's conscience." Biblical Conviction means conviction or belief derived from and based on a commitment to Scripture, the Bible and the conviction affect him or her spiritually .

We need to be careful when differentiating generic conviction to biblical conviction. As a conviction is a convinced conscience, not all our conscience is flawless. Conscience is not a perfect indicator of right and wrong as our human conscience can be weak and defiled. Our convictions will not always agree because they are personal. However, if our convictions are grounded on the Scripture which is God breathed, our biblical convictions can guide us through many pitfalls in our life.

Conviction is nasty. Why is it so? Conviction can bring inconvenience at the time when convenience is most desirable. It can be troublesome as we are kind of being held back and unable to perform something. One's conviction can turn out to be a laughing stock of another person. Our conviction may not necessary be appreciated and valued by others. One's conviction can even cause misunderstanding between two parties.

Above all, conviction convinces us of our sin. It tells us the right and wrong. Everyone should have a set of personal biblical convictions in our journey with God. One who has no conviction is easily moved. When our conviction is challenged, our character is tested. Keeping and upholding a conviction isn't easy but as long as God is honoured, the soul is satisfied.

Our conviction should not be people-driven or environment-driven, but God-driven.

Along my journey so far, these are some of the convictions that I have carried and by God's grace, I will carry on... (Not in sequence)

1. I resolved not to speak any profanity.

2. I resolved that I will not skip/miss any Sabbath service as a result of my own agenda, God the priority.

3. I resolved to keep my virginity till marriage.

Some convictions I have adopted along the way through observation from others and as I am convinced by the teaching of the Scripture:

1. I resolved not to attempt illegal downloading.

2. I resolved not to purchase pirated goods.

3. I resolved not to jaywalk even though to my most inconvenience (when there is not even a car spotted). I rather wait.

I am convinced that little tiny things in my life that are not rightly upheld or practiced are the roots to bigger sins. I am still discovering many more convictions to uphold in my life.

So, how can we bring glory to God in every move that we make?

Do you have a conviction?

Interesting Thought:

1. Is there a testimony when we ran against the traffic or jaywalked as we rushed our way to arrive at certain destination for the purpose of serving God?

2. I download worship songs. I think God is pleased because I am a musician in church. I download for the glory of God.

So you think? :)

Contentment

"Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.

"When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day."

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

Contentment is one of the greatest states of life if one can ever achieve. That is the state when the soul is deeply satisfied, rooted in the acknowledgement and the recognition from God alone and not from the world. It is a journey of counting the blessings, what we have instead of what we are lacking. The world is never contented with everyone trying to out-rule another mankind. If we drink from the world, we will be thirsty again. Those who drink from the living water, shall not thirst again.

Only If We have Listened

When God says, what shall we do?

How often have we not followed God's instructions? How often have we missed the marks due to our own negligence and followed the heart rather than taking God's way?

How often do we realize that Only If I Have Listened, things will not turn out to be this way! Many outcomes can be totally different only if we have listened, to God, spiritual mentors and those who are wiser than us. Life is all about decision making. From what we gonna eat for breakfast to what time should I rest... It can be minor or major decision but all we want to see is a wise move! We will never understand how immense the difference can be, only if we have paid more attention and listened to the wiser and God!

Naturally when we are young, we always like to go on adventure. When our parents say no to this and that, we question for reasons but most of the time, we tend to taste the forbidden fruits. At the end of the day, we get punished for our wrong doings. Hopefully we regret and learn from our mistakes. It is similar in our walk with God. When God gives a direction, do we follow straightforward or we try to wrestle with God? When God says do not give in to temptation and flee from youthful desires and sins, do we try to light up the sparks or extinguish?

Think of a few scenarios below.

1. Only if Eve had listened to God's instruction, the birth of Sin into the world had to be different.

2. Only if Jonah had listened to God rather than running away, he would not have to be swallowed by a big fish. What did he gain? Didn't he obey God's instruction at the end?

3. Abraham listened to God. He took the step of faith and willingly offered Isaac as God commanded him. God saw his heart. Not only God spared Isaac's life, Abraham was then called Father of All Nation.

Today, as God speaks, as His commandments are made known, as sins are made clear, right and wrongs are distinguished, how should we respond?

We Against the World

I went to watch X Men First Class with my lifegroup mates earlier today. The story line was quite ok but I took home some points to ponder.

Firstly, Christians should stand in the same line battling against the world. Our citizenship is in heaven as we hold a temporary residency (TR) here on earth. We all have a mission to accomplish before Jesus returns - to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Besides, we ought to help one another to live a life that is pleasing unto God. We ought to present our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. Not every body is acceptable, we get polluted easily. Throughout the journey, we gotta learn how to stand still in our faith. Faith is the most crucial weapon to assure our victory. Something we need to retain. Each one of us is the watchman for another fellow. Don't live a selfish life! Keep an eye on each other. The devils are preying so diligently to swallow those with shaky faith. Being alone offers vulnerability.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, there is strength when many come together as one. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up! But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Christians can bring a great impact to the world when every comes together. Why should we allow dissension to break us apart? Why is there hatred even among the believers? Why should there be jealousy and provocation among different denominations? Aren't we receiving the One Baptism and serving the One God who shows no favouritism?

Lastly, God creates everyone of us in the unique way. We are born that way. We should be proud and appreciate God's creativity. Like the mutants, we do not need to hide. The more we try to hide, the more frustrated we will get. We don't need the acknowledgement from the world. Place our security in God. At the end of the day, we are not going to be judged by the world or how the world sees us, but God the chief judge. Confessing our weaknesses reflects one's humility. Remember, Kingdom Shakers are different. When we are different, then we can change the world.

Learn from the mutants in the story.

Come together, stand as one. We unite, against the world!

Why It Hurts

I was talking to a guy earlier on today. Someone who had a bad past and basically mucked up his teenage years. But he found God and I believe God is working within him. He questioned about the pain, hurt and barrier which intensified as he decided to walk closer with God. Guilt has been resurfacing from time to time especially in times of weakness.

Let me put the situation in this simple analogy. Imagine there are two boxes, A and B which is 20m from one another. Box A carries the loads of life that we carry with us in this world, including our beings, wealth, worldly desires, etc. Box B represents God. When we become a Christian and embark on the journey to know God, we realize that there are whole lots of stuff that need to be trimmed and cleared. Consciously or unconsciously, we are in the process of realigning ourselves and walking closer to God. Hence the distance between the two boxes gradually decreases. However, the indulgence in the sinful pattern or the temporary excitement one been through will not let the person goes free that easily. As the devils are powerful, they will try all sort of ways to fool and overpower our will and desire. Recall the story of Adam and Eve, we should be informed of how smart the Satan can be in luring us.

Meanwhile, God is pulling our the other hand. We are kind of stuck in between, struggling to break free from either side. One side leads to death, the other leads to freedom. God never let go his hand. We are the one who break lose and fall into the pit. The process of getting closer to God is painful, is not easy. We have to allow God to change so much within us and as we receive new revelations, so much training and it seems like a daunting journey ahead. Many only manage to pull through half way. We have to learn how to set apart ourselves and apply the Truth and the Word of God in our life. It is a long restructuring process which requires perseverance and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. There will be a great wall blocking us. We might find way too much "rules and regulations" that "contradict" to what our old selves possessed.

It hurts because something is bursting out in the deepest part of our soul. There is a new birth of conviction. The Spirit is convicting and correcting us. If there's no struggle as we face the rising walls, it might simply mean the Spirit is not in us and we have never welcomed Jesus into our life.

To change is never easy. The key to victory is the full reliant on our God and through the works of the Spirit. It is not our own strength and might. It requires a partnership. It involves sacrifice. It is painful yet the endurance will lead to eternal freedom and glory. It is worth it!

Is all the we walk through comparable to the endurance of Jesus on his road to Calvary?

In God, we are more than conquerors. Grab hold of the hand and never let it go. Call upon the name of Jesus and be saved.

Hebrew 12:2 says "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

After treatment comes healing and wholeness. No treatment is painless and easy. Hold on!

Death

I had a conversation over the phone with a mate that I met during street evangelism two months ago. He called and we just chatted over life. Soon, our conversation developed into discussing about death and life, control over life and God's will.

To sum up, my mate seems to worry about death. He wonders if he will leave this earth before getting married. Aha! However, the cause of his worry is the aftermath from a tragedy that his dear friend encountered not too long ago, that indeed men are like flowers, here today gone tomorrow. The tragedy has been haunting him to a certain extent.

Life is beyond our control. Our God he gives and he takes. As Christian, we believe everyone has a purpose on earth where God places us in and we are not an accident. We are not meant to consume oxygen and waste our life. Finding the purpose in God motivates us to live our life to the fullness. Death should not capture our focus, fearful of the time we will leave this earth. In fact, every moment is crucial to fulfill God's plan in our life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die..."

We have one life, how are we going to live this life? Our concern should not be swerved to "How and when will I die?"

Find the purpose in God and receive the peace from God. Death has no sting on us, we are meant to be victorious. Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21. It is an overwhelming statement. It is as well, a very dangerous statement as we proclaim it. Are we living fully for Christ, or our own agenda? Are we pursuing what God has intended for us? Consider death, is it just an end to our story or are we pursuing the eternity, knowing that we have fought a good fight and is ready to hand in our log book to God for review? Build up our life, and aim to leave a godly legacy. We are meant to impact!

When everything fades away, God stands still. Death, has no power over us. In fact, it is a glorious moment when our mission on earth is accomplished and as we are called back, returning to our heavenly abode where the glory of God lasts forever.

Counting Thy Faithfulness

Within 2 weeks time, I encountered His marvelous faithfulness and favour. I would like to dedicate this post to my Abba Father who has never failed to impress me.

Remember a few weeks ago, I wrote about receiving my lowest grade ever throughout my university life for one of my favourite subjects. I am here to testify His goodness.

After having a conversation with my mentor, I decided to seek for a review. I had drained much effort into this piece of assignment, I believe the outcome is not what I deserve. Prior to my appointment with my lecturer, a friend of mine told me how sarcastic the review and comment she received from the lecturer. There was no ground of consideration as she actually failed her assignment. However to her astonishment, instead of showing mercy, she received harsh feedback, tearing her heart apart as she shared to us her experience. I was held back, seeing that I will most likely end up hitting a rock, might as well just pull back. However, a voice from nowhere asked me to proceed on with my decision. Review filed.

Later in the afternoon, my lecturer texted me for a meet up. We ran through the assignment and he pointed out some minor mistakes yet couldn't convince me to deserve a low grade. It was to my surprise that he promised to read through my work again in detail and will submit to the unit coordinator for a re-mark. A week later, he sent me an email informing the change of grade! Yes, an upgrade! The good news just came so in time as I was losing my confidence and like an old-battered warship . God is good, I can only sing.

Three days ago, my group mate and I received another major assignment. It was a fairly good piece of work as we obtained high distinction. The lecturer left a comment saying "See me ... etc". Our meet up turned into a funny conversation.

"Excellent job. Very well done guys. Did you guys cheat?"

"Thanks thanks. Er.. No we don't!"

"It's indeed really good. I like everything about it. Incredible. Who helped you?"

"Er... God?"

Upon hearing "God", my lecturer gave me a bewildered look. He should have thought that I am a religious person. But yeah it is my God! I should have yelled specifically - JESUS! Yeah, hope that he will know my God one day.

Today, God surprised me again! I loved it as I didn't expect that. This round was a team based assignment which most of us were dreadful of. Recalling those nights we kind of fumbled through. Recalling those endless moments we yelled at each other how hard it was. Again, God poured his favour upon our team as we pressed in to trust Him. We were so close to be nominated as the winning team for the project we were involved in, but the final decision of selecting the best out of the top two performing teams ousted us. The teaching and projects were issued by one of the biggest construction firms in the world - Bovis Lend Lease. Despite our lost, we were assured a place for interview if we ever apply for a job from the company. Our names will be submitted to the human resource department. Isn't God good?

How great is my God? Great is Thy Faithfulness. How can I not praise Him?

I have resolved to serve Him faithfully and to seal my Trust in Him forever.