For our sake

Here's an interesting fact: everything that happens to us and everything that we do is not only for God's sake or other's sake, but also for our sake.

God works in mysterious ways for sure. For us to receive good things, we must first do good to others. If we are hurting, the best way to get over it is to love another. If we are going through a bad time, we should help others get over their bad times and we will heal faster!

Similarly when we share the Gospel with others, we will learn more about God. As we continue to spread His word and do His work, we will learn new things and see God in a different way. Serving others not only lifts them up, it also brings us up!

And enduring pain is also for our sake! As Richard Blackaby said yesterday, there are some things about God that we can only learn through pain. And it is only through pain that we learn just how far we will go for God. It is always easy in peaceful times to say we love God, we will follow all His commands etc. And of course, it's always easy to be Christlike when everything is going our way. But when trouble comes along, when we hit a wall, what would we do then? Would we still sing His praises? Would we defiantly state our love for Christ? Will we continue to be Christlike or will we abandon it all just to fit in the crowd? God knows how we will do when trouble comes along, He allows it to come so that we would know how much we love Him.

In short, while everything that we do and everything that happens is for God's plan to come about and also to lead others back to Him, it's also to grow us. How amazing is that? Everything that happens has a threefold aim. And it fulfills it everytime. So remember, everything that happens is for our good and for our sake, not only the sake of others or God's.

An Awesome God!!

Wow! Can God be more awesome?

Yesterday I went for a talk, "How to Hear God's Voice" by Richard Blackaby. Had my doubts at first about it but it was great! I felt the presense of God as well as it reminded me of how God truly is always with us. I learn a little more about God and what He speaks to us about.

An amazing example has been the last 5 days. I not only injured my toe, but I also develop a cold (along with it's side effects, cough and sore throat) and to top it all, I dented my car. In anyone's books, that's gotta be a pretty bad week. Course, I also started the week with some bad news about my performance but yet, I'm not angry, sad, depondant or unmotivated. If anything, I'm more carefree, happier and more motivated! It can't be me, it must be the spirit comforting me and leading me on. I can't even feel sad that my car looks ugly now! I just so in awe of how God can really work in me.

Richard Blackaby pointed out that when God speaks through someone on stage, the same speech can speak different things to different people in the audience. And speak personally at that. That's how amazing God is. One event, one speaker, and many learn more about God in many different ways personally. Each audience feels like the speaker is speaking to them directly. Now that's an amazing speech. And it can only happen when God does the speech.

Toe injury

What a week! Played futsal on Thursday and injured my big toe. At the same time, caught a cold. So I was aching all over, weak, tired and hurt for half the week. Nearly took leave...

Went to Teluk Kumbar to eat seafood last night. Spent a big too much but was really good. Got really full. Hopefully can find more 'kaki' then it'll be cheaper next time around. And next time, we won't miss the place...

Scratch the car on Friday though it's just bodywork damage. Was going to have to go to the workshop anyways. The nice thing is the scratch makes it look like some cool design. So if i can't bang back the bodywork, I'll just ask the workshop to dent the other side!

Coming down to KL next weekend so if anyone wanna meet up, call me!

A Different Perspective

In comparing between how God sees this world and how we see this world, it's intriguing that it really is world's apart (pun intended). Let's list down the ways...

God's view	Our view
Heaven is our permanent home, Earth is temporary	Earth is our home.
Life on Earth is very short (70+ years vs eternity)	We have a long time on Earth now (70+ years!!)
All things have been planned in Heaven. There is no such thing as luck.	Coincidences and luck exist. And some people seem more lucky than others.
Our lives have been planned out since conception. It's a matter of whether we choose to follow His plan for us.	There is such thing as accidental birth. Our choices determine our next move and the future is uncertain.
All things work for our own good.	Why do bad things happen to good people?

So, since Christians are suppose to be filled by the Holy Spirit and thus, see God's view of the world, it's no wonder we can no longer be of the world! Because how the world interprets the things is so very different from how God interprets them. Of course, having a different perspective albeit a correct one will still cause others to call you crazy. But, the prize at the end is well worth it...

Eating Roti Canai with a fork and Chicken Chop with a spoon

For this week, the most unusually thing was I had to eat my breakfast with only a fork due to lack of cutlery. If that wasn't weird enough, the next day I had to eat my lunch with only a spoon! Course, manage to do it successfully, proving that it doesn't take much to enjoy a meal. hehee...

Also, celebrated 3 colleague's birthday at Victoria Station.

Speeding doesn't pay

About a month back, I was driving home after dinner in the city when this 4WD passed me on the road. Obviously he was in a hurry. I forgot all about him till I caught up with him at a traffic light about 5 km away. And then, I was just behind him all the way home. Geee... going faster obviously doesn't mean reaching earlier...

This week, I was on my way home when i passed this car. Again, I went off and this car was left behind. Yet, I find the car right behind me all the way till we split.

2 incidents, both proving one thing: it's doesn't pay to speed in the city. You go nowhere fast. Still, people tend to speed. Dunno why though. Gain any advantage? Quite obviously, no.

Ultimate Sacrifice

How great is Heaven! It is the ultimate prize! It's worth the ultimate sacrifice! Countless times, those who follow after the King of Kings lay down their everything in order that they may see His face. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego rather be thrown in the fire then bow down before another. Daniel was thrown to the lions for praying to God. The apostles were tortured, persecuted, killed because they choose to believe in Jesus Christ.

In fact, Jesus even said that "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." (Matthew 18:8-9). Heaven is so great that to enter into it is better than anything the world can ever offer!

Bearing that in mind, we must know what is expected of us. To live a Christian life is effectively signing a death sentence.

Figuratively speaking, that means dieing to His cause and His ways. What that means is to follow His words. What He says, we do. We no longer simply follow the whims of our hearts or of our own desires for we are now in the Lord's army. We move when He moves, we act as He wants us to act. Quite often, the choices that He makes for us are extremely hard to make but it's a choice we must make in order to fully understand His glory and to fulfill His great and merciful plan for us and the entire planet.

Literally speaking, it means the world will hate us. Because we are now Christians, we do not see the world as others see it. Our thoughts are now in tune with God's thoughts. We start to see the world through His eyes. It's the ultimate paradigm shift. Life on Earth is short and temporary. We do not belong in the world. Our REAL home is now Heaven. Earthly happenings no longer trouble us because we know He is in charge. The people around us can't understand us because we no longer see eye to eye with him. And what people can't understand, they fear. Not only that, but because we set new standards, others now see how far they have fallen. And being humans, they'd rather not know these things. In fact, if we do follow God wholeheartedly, I believe one day we will encounter people who hate us so much, that they want to kill us.

If it's not the physical killing, it's the spiritual and mental. They question your faith. They try to break your spirit. They plant doubts in your mind. Even the situations can be used against you. One common question which I think Christians all face from time to time is "How can such a loving and merciful God allow all the atrocities going on in this world to happen?"

And that's why it's important to be grounded in God. To know Him, to have a relationship with Him. Through constant talks with Him during prayer and through the Bible, we can gain the knowledge to properly back up our faith. As we defend God, we also educate the world and lead people to Christ.

I'm so excited! Every problem we came across leads us and others one step closer to God. It is very true, those who lose their lives for Christ gain everlasting life in Heaven.

Love & Sacrifice

I'm curious about this thing called love. As dictionary.com defines it;

1. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
2. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.
3. An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.
4. A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.
5. An expression of one's affection: Send him my love.
6. A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language.
7. The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love.

When we say we love something or someone, we end up spending the most time with that special thing/person. We are willing to sacrifice time for that.

In terms of possesion or activity, we often find ourselves centering our lives around it. Not only that, we are willing to do almost anything in order to have it or to be able to do it again. Nothing can stop us.

As for people, we want to be near them at all times. As countless love songs have reminded us, we are willing to die for them. We'd sacrifice everything just to be with them.

So as Christians, how do we show that we love Christ? By the definitions above, it means to want to be close to Him at all times. It means never letting go and doing anything so that the relationship is not destroyed. But how to do that?

Since Christ knew not sin and sin turned us away from Him, quite obviously to get close to Him, we should not sin. Though it's near impossible not to sin, but we should ensure we sin less. And of course, ask His forgiveness when we do.

And as John 14:15 says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." In other words, since we as Christians say we love Christ, we must show our love for Him by doing as He has commanded us. That includes the 10 commandments and all His teachings. A few good examples are like loving your neighbour and loving your enemies.

And yet, this is not happening. God said love Him with everything that we have. Making Him the center of our lives. Sacrificing it all just to follow His commands. It's not like we don't know His commands. Even if we have not heard Him, we know what He commands through the Bible. But not all Christians live this faith out. I know Christians who hate their enemies. Christians who put their needs before others. Christians who are jealous, angry, lust, etc.

Well, that's not to say those who love God will never do all that. Just that they try their best not to and if it ever happens, they will straight go to God for forgiveness. But what really grinds me is how come Christians are willing to spend more time with God. Granted, there are many ways to serve Him and only Him alone knows how much we are willing to sacrifice for Him but still, there should be some outward showing.

Anyways, in the end this is something between each person and God. I'm not here to judge, just my observations. A good indicator is asking yourself, how much time a day do you give to God? Not just quiet time but as in letting God work through you. Do you put your work in His hands and trust that He alone will deliver you? Do you spend time with Him? Do you worship Him at every opportunity you get? Does everytime you speak, Your love for Him shows through? At the end of the day, if someone points a gun at you and say, "Renounce your faith in Jesus or I'll blow your brains out." will we comply or will we stand our ground?

For me, the choice is simple. There is no other answers other than He is my saviour and I will never forsake Him. He has given His life for me. The least I can do is stand up for Him.

6 Reasons Why I will never abandon God

1. He gave me a reason, a mission, a purpose for life. I am here today because He has a plan for me, a plan to bring about His might works.
2. He gives me comfort and strength to go out and do His work. I can confidently go out into the world and follow my heart knowing that He has my back always.
3. He promises to protect me always. No matter what situation I am in or what kind of danger threatens me, I am not afraid because I'm secure in the knowledge that His angels are watching over me always.
4. I have heard Him. I have felt His holy spirit. And I have seen His angels! He has given me much joy! He has comforted me in my sorrows. He has done all this and much more for me!
5. I have seen Christians who live full on for Him! They are loud! They are fearless! They dare do the impossible and the dangerous because they know their God has said so and it SHALL be done! At the same time, I see that on their own, they have done little but God has brought about so much more!
6. I have been to God-centred events. With His presense strong in that place, He moves among us. The event becomes awesome! It becomes incredible! More than that, it becomes a life-changing event. Truly, with Him at the centre of everything we do, not only do we succeed at it, but we reap rewards far beyond our expectations!!

Relaxing Weekend

Aaaahhhh... well, it's been a very relaxing weekend. Both me and my housemate spend more than half the time sleeping. Goooooood sleeeeppp....

Don't believe me? My Saturday program became waking up late (near lunchtime), have lunch, take a nap, go for Youth Ministry, laze around, dinner, movie and sleep.

Sunday was better! Woke up nearly as late, surf internet, lunch then sleep again till dinner! Course I ended up staying up later than I'd want to but hey, good rest all around.

The effect is tremendous! This week, I've been able to concentrate harder on my work. Just goes to show you how important sleep can be...

Oh! Penang International Bridge Marathon was on Sunday morning! I actually went to sleep when the runners had already started. Interesting...