God, do You care?

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Of course He does.

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More than we can ever imagine possible. Problem is that many of us do not fully believe it in our hearts, especially when we are caught in the storm of adversity. The disciples of Jesus seem to have the same problem:

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

(Mk 4:37-38)

Difficult to comprehend how these words could have come from men who literally live with the Immanuel God beside them. _

But this is not new. I believe all of us have been guilty of doing the same: accusing God of not caring or witholding blessings from us when we are in the midst of difficulties and pain. In times like this, it is amazing how quickly we forget the countless times that our faithful God had delivered us in the past. Not to mention too how we choose to ignore the numerous promises of God that we are so familiar with in the Bible.

Eg. Rom 8:35-39, Jer 29:11, Jn 16:33, Php 4:19, just to name a few.

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Yet, though we "know" them, only trials will test if we truly believe them, which in turn will determine our attitudes and responses to:

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(1) Unanswered (or not yet answered) prayers.

(2) Prolonged periods of struggles with temptations, difficult relationships, finances

(3) Rejection by men

(4) Sicknesses

(5) Feelings of spiritual dryness

(6) Unfortunate incidents or even tragedies in our lives.

(7) Past hurts

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The list goes on....

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But in view of us already knowing how God has demonstrated His love for us on the Cross, for us to continue to accuse Him of not caring will indeed be most unfair and baseless.

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It will actually seem absurd.

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Thinking Right

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On medical leave due to throat infection yesterday, so had a day of enforced rest. Felt real good...definitely needed that rest. And I was just telling my wife a few days ago when I was really tired that getting myself hospitalised (for whatever reason) might be a good idea, because it seemed like it was the only way that I could get some real rest without thinking about what needs from family,work, ministry had to be met, what responsibilities I need to fulfill. Was promptly reprimanded by her of course for having such "negative" thoughts....;-)

And after the sermon on Sunday, I had time yesterday to reflect on my own thought life and I realised that there are many things that I need to set right:

I have hope, I have a destiny and I am an overcomer in Christ Jesus.

There is hope in spite of the relentless busy-ness in my life. It is for a glorious future, in seeing the next generation (both physical and spiritual) serve the Lord faithfully. My destiny is that of a Son of God...not a slave. I serve because God loves me as a son, not to win God's approval or acceptance. In that light. I can and I should take time to rest whenever I am tired; and do things I like regularly without feeling guilty.

And with the helmet of salvation, I can reject the thoughts from the evil one that it is not worth it for me to sacrifice the my time and material comfort that are temporal for things of the spirit that are eternal. I need to remember that none of my work for Him will ever be in vain.

I need to remind myself that it is a privilage and honor to support my wife in full-time ministry, not a unwanted burden that comes at a high a price.

I need to remember that I must never succumb to the temptation to quit. I will overcome them. I will finish the race, and finish strong.

I will overcome busy schedules victoriously, and with joy and hope.

And finally - I do not need to fall ill or check into a hospital in order to get some rest. :)
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A Series of Unfortunate Events

PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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If there was a time when I needed Philippians 4:4-7, it must have been this Tuesday, when I was floored by a series of unfortunate incidents:

1) started the day biting my own lips. Painful....could feel an ulcer developing.

2) A programing script ran by my colleague in the USA had unexpected effects on the rest of the data in the system. It will mean many days of correcting the errors generated.....on top of the already busy schedule.

3) A huge spreadsheet I was working on crashed the application. The backup copies I had chose the right time to get corrupted as well...sigh.

4) On the way home, a huge truck in front of me spilled buckets of "cement-water" on the road, spraying my car with them.

5) At home, Timothy smashed my new watch on the floor, putting it out of operation.

Sh*t happens...so they say, and I was hit by bucketfuls that day.

Yet, I thank God. Because in spite of the "eventful" day, could feel indeed that God is near, and the peace of God was with me. In the past, all these events would probably gotten me into rage/depression and I would probably be cursing and swearing; and Timothy would probably have received a spanking from me.

Instead, I just sighed and shook my head in exasperation at the chain of events, and somehow, I know my inner man wasn't too disturbed. Instead I saw the hand of God and the bright side of things:

1) I could still complete my work....just have to work harder and longer hours....the damage to the data wasn't as bad as first feared.

2) I could still repair the corrupted file. Managed to retrieve most of my work.

3) Took 1/2 hr of hard scrubbing....but I could still wipe off all the cement stains without any obvious damage to my car's paintwork.

4) My watch is still under warranty....I guess it could still be repaired.

JN 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Yep, sh*t happens...but as long as Jesus is with me, everything's under His control!
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Keep Moving Forward - Revisited

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Came across this verse yesterday when I was reading the Book of Ecclesiastes:

ECC 7:10

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?"
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

Strange that I never noticed it before. I realise I am pretty guilty of that too. Find myself too often reminiscing about the "good old days", when life is simpler, when there is more freedom, time for myself, when I may have less money, but less bills to pay, and more $$ to spend on myself! I do wonder sometimes, especially when the going gets tough in balancing all the demands of my life, what my life would be like now, had I made different choices regarding my work, ministry, family and kids. Would I have a "better" life now if I had chosen differently?

The grass always looks greener on the other side of the pasture, especially when you meet friends who have chosen differently and seem to be still enjoying the "good old days" kind of lifestyle now.

But after meditating on Ecclesiastes 7:10, I begin to understand why it is unwise to reminisce too much: because it is quite contrary to the spirit of Paul when he exhorts his readers in Philippians 3:13 to "forget what is behind, so as to strive forward towards the goal that God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Indeed, sometimes it is not the bad past that stops us from overcoming and moving forward; it is instead a good past that drags us back, reminding us of how good things were in those days of old, so that it tempts us to try to recreate the "good old times" rather than to spur us to create an even better future.

A timely reminder. I thank God for the "good old days". But I need to face the reality that those days will not return. So instead of asking why things are better in the past, I need to look ahead and keep moving forward towards the glorious future in Christ Jesus.

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Keep Moving Forward

Brought the kids to watch Disney's "Meet the Robinsons" last weekend. Good family entertainment with sound values too. As usual, God showed me that He can even use cartoons to remind me of His truth.

For those of you who have watched this movie, the theme was to "Keep Moving Forward" despite failures and rejections in life. I thought it was enirely consistent with His Word in Philippians:

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PHP 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

The story contrasts the responses of 2 orphans, one living by that mantra of "Keep Moving Forward" even after facing numerous setbacks, failures and disappointments; while the other allowed those same disappointments and failures to develop bitterness & hate.

Needless to say, one went on to tremendous success in life, while the other dedicated his life to seeking revenge & blaming others for his own misfortunes.

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I thought it was a good reminder to me from God on how to live our lives.

How often have we heard a inner voice telling us to give up? How often have we "given up" in these areas:

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(1) inviting friends to church because we have been rejected too many times....

(2) praying for key areas in our lives because God has not answered our prayers and we are disappointed in Him.

(3) serving actively in church because we feel let down by people in the ministry in the past.

(4) sharing the gospel...because we have seen little or no success all these years.

(5) praying for our unsaved friends and family because we have not seen salvations so far...

(6) spending ime to seek the Lord everyday because we are crowded out by the pressures of life, esp when we have careers/family/kids to juggle.

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Need to take heed again from Galatians 6:9 :

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

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IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP. If we stopped sowing, then we can forget about reaping anything.
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Need to remember again to keep moving forward:

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"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

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May the 3 words "I Give Up" never feature again in my walk with God. Let us all "keep moving forward" towards the ultimate prize in Christ Jesus.

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The Love of God

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The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

(The Love of God - Frederick M. Lehman, 1917)

Must be a sign of age when the songs of worship that have been most meaningful to me during my devotion times this Easter are all hymns at least 90 years old....:0

But the truth is that nothing quite compares to old hymns when it comes to the richness and poetic nature of their lyrics.

And as we come towards the end of the Easter celebrations and thanksgiving on this Resurrection Monday, I thought it most apt to give thanks once again for the love of God for all of us. I thought the 3rd and last stanza of this hymn described my thoughts of gratitude the most - indeed nothing that we ever do can hope to adequately describe or give thanks for the love of God, for each one of us.

Although Easter this year will soon be past, I pray that that sense of awe, gratitude and thanksgiving for the love of our Lord will forever linger in our hearts, all the days of our lives.
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Remembering the Cross at Easter

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When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demand my soul, my life, my all.

(When I survey the Wondrous Cross - Issac Watts)
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Thank you Lord Jesus, for Your mercy and grace, for your love for me, that You were willing to endure the pain and humiliation of the cross for me.

May the vision of the cross be engraved in my heart, my mind and my soul everyday, all the days of my life. Amen.
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