Blessed are...

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 5:3-12

thoughts

*sigh..another clash of philosophy...  i hate the feeling when I'm not able to explain something adequately(it gets worse when I'm nervous- which usually happens when I have to face him)...
i admit that i was wrong in the first place - not that it's an excuse, but perhaps deep down I knew he would not have understood anyways...

Thank You

I guess some prayers take a little longer to answer... Thank you for answering this one... :)
I look forward with another year of service a little more now... :)

It's been one year

One year serving full time in church post-STM.. Thanks to God for His strength and sending people to uphold me throughout the past year of ministry... :)

Deuteronomy and Ethics - Reflection for Day 2

Today we went through a whole host of interesting topics.. I dun have much time to blog due to lateness of the hour but maybe just to highlight two main points:

1. Election of Israel
Paul (the lecturer, not the apostle) pointed out that the Israel forgot the purpose of their election. God had a greater plan for them.  Why one people group?? Some ppl have the view that when God chooses one group, God rejects the rest (logical conclusion but a fallacy). 
The fact is, God chooses one ppl group for the sake of the rest.
The election of Israel is not a rejection of the other nations – but for the sake of the other nations. 

Similarly, I think it is so easy to lose sight of why we are Christians. It's never for our own sake but for God's greater purpose. So how are we living our redeemed lives? So many of us(including myself) seem to live so selfishly and our self-preservation always seem to be at the top of our list.. 

2. Modern Israel

Despite the fact that Modern Israel consider themselves a secular state, can they still be considered as God's ppl? There seems to be a trend within the Malaysian churches to accept that Israel today is still God's chosen pppl. I wonder also if this is also because ingrained in our churches is a biasness against Muslims and Islam that we die die have to side Israel? On top of that, I wonder too if it's because of our poor/weak understanding when we read the Old testament? 

Deuteronomy and Ethics - Reflection for Day 1

It's been a while since I've done any reflection of any kind in writing... Apologies(to those reading this) if my post is rather incoherent...

Today's is the first day of Deuteronomy and Ethics by Paul Barker.. It's the first time that I'm sitting in his class and though the initial pace was a bit slow for me (but I understand that some ppl in the class might need it to go slower lah), it seemed to pick up speed and to my delight, I had a lot of stuff to chew on as the day went on (sometimes I've been feeling a bit starved for some solid teaching so it was really, really good)...

We covered a wide array of topics from introduction, the themes, the structure of Deuteronomy, OT law and function, Christians and OT law AND deuteronomy 1-3.

I'll just highlight certain things that sticks out for me at this point:

1. Generation conflation (from Style of Deuteronomy session)

As PJEFC is looking forward into addressing the issues of the younger generation, this has really struck me... Are we repeating the mistakes of the older generation in our arrogance in thinking that we are better than our elders and we know best to know how to reach out to other younger ppl in our generation? Are we not in danger of repeating the mistakes that they have made if we do not seek to understand them, if we do not affirm them, if we do not reach out to them - just as we may complain that they do not do these to us? Are we going to throw in the towel if things do not go OUR way? Are we not in danger of being as hypocritical as they seem to be? What happened to denying self? Where is our trust in God? Or are we in danger of doing things only our way?

What God says to the previous generation, he still says to the current generation. Are we listening and obeying?

2. God called the Israelites 'his people' before He gave His law to them (from structure of Deuteronomy session)

I'm reminded again, for all I do and work in the church, there's nothing I can do anymore to earn His love for me (sometimes I can so easily slip back into this old mentality)... He's called me His and though I may make mistakes in following Him, it's really only by His grace that I continue on in my ministry and journey with Him..  I do the things I do out not because I have to do it to earn his favour - but as an expression of my love for Him.. This is such a fine line for me sometimes..

3. Law comes within a framework of established relationship by grace (from OT law functions session - one of my fav)

"Obedience to the law is not about getting into a relationship but an expression of it. Obedience is the ethic of gratitude and thanks to God for the relationship that has been established. "

I think that when I'm not careful, I can get so muddle up about why I obey God's law... I can so easily fall into the trap that I obey the law to keep a relationship with God and not because I want to express my relationship with him in gratitude.. Another fine line for me... 

4. Found out that I hold the maximinalist view (from Christian and OT Law session - another favourite)

It was personally interesting to have more clarity in this area of how Christians today should apply and understand OT law.

Ok.. Enough... As my young ppl whom I'm discipling would say when I'm inspired to 'sermonise' to them.. 'Aiyoh, Brain overload d'.. Enough for today... Tomorrow's another matter. ;)

Revival...

Feels like my blog has died.. Will try to revive it again.. hopefully soon...

Preaching tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow morning will be my first time preaching for a church service. I'm still in the midst of preparing with 15 hours more to go - especially since there was a mishap on Tuesdsay(I'd sent my car for washing and brought out my sermon materials. My aunt accidentally threw them away even though they were in a folder. That was the end of my untyped commentary and thoughts for the sermon that I'd spent a few weeks working on). I had meetings everyday this week so that meant wayyyyy less time to prepare. The new intern this week is only able to come in for the week so I had to allocate a fair bit of hours to spend time with him too. So not a lot time for sermon prep.

Nevertheless, it's been a journey of continual trusting in Him as I see my sermon come together much faster than I thought I'd be able to put together. It's also by His grace that I did save some of my sermon notes so I could build on whatever I had. I guess He wants me to practice what I've been teaching the interns who've been coming in- to continue to trust in Him in my life no matter what happens(through busy-ness, through rough times, when time is tight, when I'm upset).

If God told me 10 years ago that I'd be preaching as part of my following Him, I'd prolly be a whole lot more wary and skeptical about going full time. I think it's ironical to find myself behind the pulpit. I don't consider myself a public speaker (my tongue sometimes twists when I'm nervous). I'm still working on things in my life - I'm not there yet and wonder how I can tell others what to do on a Sunday morning, especially those who are older than me.

Nevertheless, I do love God and I do want to obey Him. So here goes for tomorrow!! :)

Forgive

Forgive...
Let go...
Move on....

Psa 55:16-17

Psa 55:16-17
But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

I need You to hear me.. I'm feeling rather overwhelmed these few days... There's so much to do and so little time to finish... The help that was supposed to come is sick...And as time keeps on ticking, more things seems to be piled on top of it... Please help me through this week... Not for my sake, but for the sake of those that You've asked me to care for...

Kaulah Segalanya

I love this song..


Kau Bapa yang mengasihiku
KuasaMu memulihkanku
Hati yang baru Kau berikan
Untuk ku dapat melihat

RencanaMu indah bagiku
Kau ada di s'tiap jalanku
Hatiku haus dan lapar akan Engkau

CHORUS
Kaulah segalanya di dalam hidupku
KerajaanMu, kebenaranMu itu bagianku
Kaulah yang kupandang selama hidupku
MengasihiMu memuliakanMu
Bapa dan Rajaku

I Stand Amazed

Quote

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess” - Martin Luther

At The Cross

A prayer for her...

I wonder.... isn't it already enough? When is it all going to stop?? How long more will she go on like this? How much more will she be able to take? What do You want me to do? All I can do is to love her from afar when You've called me to be here while she is still there...

Can you give her a glimpse of hope... even if it's just a small sliver? Please... I ask this of You... for her... because I know You love her... though she does not call herself Yours...

Malaysia reality TV seeks young male Muslim leader - Yahoo! Philippines News

I thought this article is rather interesting as I seek to do discipleship with some of my young ppl in my church...

Malaysia reality TV seeks young male Muslim leader - Yahoo! Philippines News: "the prizes combine both worlds: An all-expenses-paid pilgrimage to Mecca and a car."

Saying

"Using straw boats to borrow arrows" - Chinese saying

*I like the story that comes with this.. :)

Questions of the mind....

I've come to a realization - no matter how hard one works, no matter how one tries to cover all their bases, no matter how pure one's intention, despite the fact that one may think that

communication has been done, even when everything seems to be aligned to the will of God, when things seem to be moving in the right direction - one can get shot down(hard) most unexpectedly and the world can seem to come crumbling down in a moment.

So the question for me is this - how does one go on? Get up again as if nothing has happened? Live in fear for what might come again? Give up? What if it gets worse?

What do You want me to do? Will You give me the wisdom, courage and strength to do it?

A time for change

This is the third time I'm changing my design template since I started blogging...

I've always liked the rain - it brings back good childhood memories of fun with my bro and sis -and so I thought it apt for this blog...

It also seemed a good time to change my blog as I sense a few changes coming up in the air.. .

Perhaps it's a good time to restart blogging again... *cross fingers*

Random

Someone just said that I'm a matured Gen Y... Whatever that means.. kekekkee...