God is good

Just came back from attending my son's convocation in Curtin, Perth, Australia. God is good and is always good to us. As I recall the time my son started his university life in Curtin, Miri campus, I was worried how we are going to provide for him financially.

Well, today he not only finished his degree in Curtin, but he was able to spend his last semester in Perth under a student exchange programme.

God also provided us the opportunity to spend a family holiday in Perth while attending his graduation. The only peoples missing in our group are; my dad [when back home to be with the Lord in November 2009], my daughter [studying in Singapore] and my brother and sister-in-law, work commitment in Singapore.

We were very bless while in Perth as the weather is kind to us when we were out travelling. We met up with good host and managed to cover many interesting places. God is great and most worthy of all praises.

Alone or Loneliness?

Mother Teresa said : "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty".

My daughter, after being away from home for 3 weeks came back to Penang to her familiar surrounding - cozy room, comfy bed, friendly people and delicious food; for 3 days. She was feeling alone in an unfamiliar place where there is no old friends, to shares and laughs.

Loneliness has been termed the most desolate word in the English language. It is no respecter of age, race, economic status, or intelligence. Albert Einstein said, "It is strange to be known so universally, and yet to be so lonely."
What circumstances make you feel helpless or hopeless today? Poor health, broken relationship, a family member in great need? In Jesus Christ, God has pierced the dark winter of our world in a daring rescue through His redeeming love. He is therefore able to reach us and calm our fears in the most desperate circumstances. If you feel unloved, don't run from your pain or try to get love through wrong means. Instead, devote yourself to knowing God and loving Him. Allow Him to meet your deepest needs. Then give Him all the praise !
God made us for intimacy and companionship with others. Even before sin entered the world, He declared that it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2 : 18). That's why many people often feel so empty inside.
In such moments, I am thankful to have a heavenly Father who knows what it is to be separated from a beloved Son. I am thankful to have a God who is described as "a father of the fatherless, a defender of widows" (Psalm 68:5).
Those who know Jesus are never alone. THOUGH PEOPLE MAY NOT LOVE YOU. GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU.

LONELINESS COMES WHEN WE FORGET ABOUT THE ONE WHO IS ALWAYS WITH US.

Discipleship

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

From the above Great Commission, we evangelize unbelievers, and after that, we disciple them to have a desire for holiness like Jesus Christ.

Likewise, with our Christian life. When we were saved [converted from pre-believer to believer], we were like babies. We started growing in our faith by feeding on milk, then soft diet and then solid food. Our spiritual life slowly grow from immature baby to mature adult by having an ongoing dialog with God and a growing knowledge of who God is and who we can be with in time of need. After being matured, we started to disciple other new converts to be disciple of Christ.

Even when our journey in life is marked by confinement and limitations, we can be sure that the Lord will leads other Christians to guides us and encourage us through His Word.

Discipleship is relational and experiential. As such we not only need to communicate with one another, but also live a God glorifying life. We are also to be committed to our call to fulfill the commission to share the gospel to others.

KNOWING ABOUT GOD MAY INTEREST US; BUT KNOWING GOD WILL CHANGE US.

Right Attitude

Author Henri Nouwen, in his book The Return Of The Prodigal Son, suggests that all Christians, at some point in their walk of faith, are represented by each of the three main characters. At times we are the wayward child in need of repentance and forgiveness. At other times we are the big brother who wants to hold on to resentment and withhold forgiveness. But as we mature, we become like the father, whose highest desire is to have all his children reconciled.

The church is also a big family, we should not be split into separate parts as 1 Corinthians 1:10 records "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought."

1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

Paul encouraged the Corinthians in their trials: "Do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)

So what's unseen and eternal that we can focus on? The character of God is an excellence place to focus. He is good (Psalm 25:8), He is just (Isaiah 30:18), He is forgiving (1 John 1:9), and He is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9).

A right attitude with your family begins with a right attitude toward God.

Journey

Live is a journey.   We are just like a pilgrim, travelling on a bus or train.  As we move on, we will come to a cross-section where we need to make a decision - to stop or to move on.  We can make a wrong stop, or turn into a wrong direction, but if we have Jesus with us, He will guide us back into the right path and right direction.

By the end of July, my son Johnathan finishes his university life while my daughter, Audelia begins hers from first of August.  In a few months time, Johnathan would journey on to the next stage - that is working life.

As parents our role is to prepare our children, when they grow up to leave us as independent, emotionally resilient beings with a strong moral and social compass.

Being loving and kind while setting clear behavioral boundaries and consequences, positive and negative.

Proverbs 22:6 "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."

Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
Faithfulness is God's requirement; fruitfulness is His reward.

Father

Fathers of today is different from the past, which could get away with just being the breadwinner of the family. They are expected to juggle work and home, just like mother. They need to be strong in the office, yet gentle, loving and supportive at home. They must provide encouragement, teach and counsel; to warn and be a model Christian life for their children.

Being a dad means that God has entrusted us with the task of training our children in the way they should go [Proverbs 22:6]. He also asked us to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord without exasperating them. [Ephesians 6:4]

"A dad is Gods love in action, He looks with his heart and feels with his eyes.
A dad is the bank where his children deposit all their worries and hurts.
A dad is the cement that keeps his family together and his love last a lifetime."

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

"To bring up" refers to nourishing children by providing resources for their physical, mental and spiritual needs. "Training" includes concern about all aspects of a child development. And "instruction" speaks of providing direction by well-chosen words uniquely suited to each child.

THE BEST FATHERS NOT ONLY GIVE US LIFE -- THEY TEACH US HOW TO LIVE.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Salvation Belong To The Lord

I am very blessed and honor to be given the privilege to lead my aunt's sister through the sinner prayer just now. I am amazed, and believed that ... grace and truth came through Jesus Christ [John 1:17b].

As usual, I was with a group of church's friends hiking at Youth Park, when my aunt called and told me that her sister would like to invite Jesus to be her personal Saviour. This aunt, aunty Yeoh shared that she saw a vision of two persons carrying a table and a book on it, asking and inviting her whether she would like her name to be written into this Book - she said she told them she was not ready, and they just turned away and took the table and book away and disappeared.
Her niece [a pre-believer], upon hearing her vision, asked her if she would like to be a Christian - and she replied three times 'yes'.
I went to the hospital and share to her that all of us are sinners (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:10). God loved us and sent His Son Jesus to died for us (John 3:16) and He was buried, and He was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4).

By the grace of God, I then lead her through the sinner prayer. Jesus said , “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Revelation 20:15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Salvation belongs to our God,
Who sits upon the throne,
And unto the Lamb:
Praise and glory, wisdom and thanks,
Honor and power and strength -
Be to our God, forever and ever, AMEN!
And we, the redeemed, shall be strong,
In purpose and unity;
Declaring aloud:
Praise and glory, wisdom and thanks,
Honor and power and strength.

F.A.T.H.E.R. in heaven

Attributes of our Father in heaven :-

F AITHFUL For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. - Psalm 100:5

A WESOME For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. - Psalm 47:2

T RUTHFUL Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. - John 3:33

H OLINESS Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. - Psalm 29:2
E TERNITY Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. - Psalm 93:2

R IGHTEOUSNESS Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. - Psalm 89:14

A GODLY FATHER REFLECTS THE LOVE OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER.

Work-in-progress

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

As we go through our life circumstances, twists and turns, God's grace and mercy will brings us closer to Him and reshape us into more Christlike persons, "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29)

Have Thine own way, Lord!

Have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter, I am the clay;

Mould me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still. - Polland

We all face giants in our lives - worry, doubt, fear, sin and guilt. but with limited and unlikely resources and unswerving confidence in our all-powerful God, we too can triumph over them.

"When you fall, don't see the place where you fell, instead see the place from where you slipped. Life is about correcting mistakes."

Christian's life on earth is like God's work-in-progress as written in Ephesians 2:10. It is also about Christ and relationship with Christ.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'

First commandment is the relationship or communion with God.
God had a relationship with Adam and Eve that was based on loving trust. But when disobedience broke the trusting relationship, God added more rules to protect the wayward couple and their offspring.

In Christ, God proclaimed once more that the good life He wants for us is not about rules but a relationship or communion.

Second commandment : ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
Even as we have tasted the goodness of God, we should share it with our relatives and friends as commanded in Matthew 28 :19-20 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ brings the promise of peace and reconciliation with God and with each other.

Comforter or Comfortable

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1 :3-7

Someone has written : "Sorrow can lead us into one of four lands ; the barren land in which we try to escape from it; the broken land in which we sink under it; the bitter land in which we resent it; or the better land in which we bear it and become a blessing to others." To enter that better land, we must stop focusing on our own sorrows but accept God's comfort in them, and reach out to others in need.

The best comforters are those whom God has comforted and who are willing to comfort others -- Henry Bosch

GOD DOESN'T COMFORT US TO MAKE US COMFORTABLE, HE COMFORTS US TO MAKE US COMFORTERS