Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan

We were blessed with an early Hong Kong Dim Sum dinner by Pas. Paul, Sis. Maggi and Melody at Tim Ho Wan Restaurant at Westgate, Jurong East, Singapore.

Dim Sum - which means "touching the heart" - is a Cantonese style cuisine from southern China, often served with pots of tea.

Tim Ho Wan, the 1 Michelin Star Dim Sum restaurant from Hong Kong is famed for its Baked Bun with BBQ pork, Ma Lai Gou, Pan Fried Carrot Cake and Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver known as the 4 Heavenly Kings.  Others include Har Gao, Siew Mai, Steamed Chicken Feet, Crispy Salad Fish Roll and Fried Dumpling.

After dinner we joined them for their Friday Prayer Meeting at Good Shepherd Assembly of God, Trade Hub 21, Jurong East, Singapore. 

Visit to Gardens by the Bay - Marina Bay Singapore

Supertrees

On 24 April 2014, we visited Singapore's new icon, a 101-hectare horticultural attraction.  Less than 5 minutes walk from Marina Bay.  We saw 9 to 16-storey vertical gardens (Supertrees) where rainwater are collected and used to generate solare power and act as venting ducts for the park's conversatories.

A suspended 128-metre long walkway between two Supertrees, the OCBC Skyway offers a bird's eye view of the Gardens and the Marina Bay urban area.

Supertrees at Night

OCBC Skyway

View from OCBC Skyway

 

Joy in Suffering

Peter gives 6 reasons why we can 'keep on rejoicing' when the suffering comes.  They are all related to God :

1)  It is not a surprise but a plan :

2)  It is evidence of our union with Christ :

3)  It is a means to attaining greater joy in glory :

4)  The Spirit of Glory and of God will rest on us :

5)  It glorifies God; and

6)  God is faithful to care for our soul.

True joy has nothing to do with circumstances.  It is really about faith and trust in God.  Paul writes in Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit includes joy (Galatians 5:22) .  That does not mean we enjoy the suffering and difficulty.  It does mean, however, that we have the strength and resilence to endure -- because the JOY of the Lord is our strength and God Himself will deliver us.

The assurance of the believer is not that God will save him even if he stops believing, but that God will keep him believing - God will sustain you in faith, He will make your hope firm and stable to the end - John Piper

Love is like the blowing wind

Love is like the blowing wind -

  爱亲像风吹
   Ai ching chiu hong tsui
  轻轻放互阮飞
   Kin kin pang hor goon poay
  毋管天顶偌呢阔
   Um kuan tee teng heah ne kuak
  毋管蒙雾偌呢大
   Um kuan bong boo heah ne tua
  自由和自在
   Chu yu ka chu chai
  天顶的上帝永远
   Tee teng eh Seong Teh eng wan
  牵着阮的线
   Khan tiao goon eh sua

    爱亲像风吹

      Ai ching chiu hong tsui
    轻轻放互阮飞
      Kin kin pang hor goon poay
    在蒙蒙的风雨中
      Ti bong bong eh hong hor teong
    风吹永远勿会失迷
      Hong tsui eng wan bueh sit bay
    自由和自在
      Zhu yu ka zhu zai
    天顶的上帝
      Tee teng eh Seong Teh
    永远看顾阮
      Eng wan quah kor goon

           爱如风吹    轻轻放互阮飞
          Ai ru hong tsui      Kin kin pang hor goon poay
           爱如风吹    轻轻放互阮飞
          Ai ru hong tsui      Kin kin pang hor goon poay
       啊！阮的上帝
          Ah!    goon eh Seong Teh
       牵阮的线永远勿会失迷
          Khan goon eh sua eng wan bueh sit bay

          一生跟你    一生爱你
                 Yi sheng ter Li     Yi sheng ai Li
          风吹永远勿会失迷
                 Hong tsui eng wan bueh sit bay  [Written & Music by 鄭金川  and  廖雅慧]


Love is meant to be free.
Give and do not expect.
Advise but do not order.
Ask but never demand.
  A good companion is not like the rain, which comes and go.
  It's like the air, sometimes very quiet.
  If you love something set it free.
  If it comes back, it's yours.
  If it does not, it never was.

The glory of life is to love, not to be loved;  to give, not to get;  to serve, not to be served.

Prosperity or Providence

The word "providence" comes from the Latin providentia (Greek: pronoia [provnoia]) and essentially means "foresight" or "making provision beforehand.

Providence is the sovereign, divine superintendence of all things, guiding them toward their divinely predetermined end in a way that is consistent with their created nature, all to the glory and praise of God.

God has the freedom to use anything, anyone, anywhere to accomplish His good purposes.

The prosperity Gospel teaches that it is never God's will for His people to be poor, sick, or troubled, and focuses on blessings.  It is a false Gospel.  God does love to lavish gifts on His children and delights in our successes, but our greatest prosperity is not in getting a new car or house or in starting a new relationship.  But rather, it is in knowing God and having a life that brings glory to Him.

The message of the prosperity Gospel is not only wrong but will leads people to idolatry rather than faith - it leads people to use Jesus, not love Him.

[Extracts from LIVING Life August 2013 issue]

Trusting God's providence means believing that God will use a string seemingly unrelated events to accomplish His good purpose - Dean R. Ulrich

Family Discipleship

Family discipleship is valuable for the sake of passing down the faith to our children and grandchildren.  Here are three reasons why devotions are vital for the spiritual health of the whole family :-

Firstly, leading family devotions encourages timely repentance and growth in humility.  There is no better way to keep short accounts with God and with our families than by leading family worship on a regular basis.  Without confession and repentance, we have little integrity to lead our families spiritually, so if family worship is to be an ongoing feature of our lives, we must be quick to confess and repent.

Secondly, if we are quick to confess and repent of sin, regular family devotions also open up the door for loving discipline on a daily basis, not just when the junk hits the fan.  In this sense, sins and other issues can be nipped in the bud and worked on as a family and not just in solitude.

Finally, regular family devotions reminds us that ultimately Jesus is the center of all things, including the family, not Dad, not Mom, and not the kids.  When Jesus is at the center, everything else finds its proper place and life begins to find a rhythm and order that brings glory and honor to our Lord and God, Jesus Chrst.  Trials and temptations may come, but if we remain anchored in Christ, we have a deep well of grace to draw from.

[Extracted from LIVING Life - September 2013 page 37] 

Repentance

True repentance means that we give up our sinful ways and turn toward God.  We die to our sins and choose to live for God above all else.  (2 Peter 2:20-22)

It is necessary in order for us to continue in our sanctification.  A lack of true repentence brings us back to our old ways.

Two ways of repentance : 1) at the horizontal level - that is confessing our sins to one another as James 5:16a (NIV) "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
If you sin against another, the Bible is pretty clear that you should not first go to the altar, but first go and get it right with your brother before you go to the altar (Matthew 5:23-24)

2) at the vertical level - once the air with others is cleared, we will enjoy the fresh fellowship and forgiveness with Jesus Christ.  Jesus  forgave of our sins and healed of our bodies.

Psalm 103:2-3

A repentant person can find mercy in the forgiveness of God.  Without the assurance of forgiveness, life can end in despair.

True repentance does not end with words of confession - that would be mere lip service.

True repentance must  lead to changed attitudes and behavior.

Son and Daughter

God's presents or God presence?

Psalm 16:11  You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

We want health, wealth, knowledge, a better job, a better place to live.

As David said, "In Your presence is fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11).  Presents or gifts may make us happy temporarily, but fullness of joy comes only when we remain in a right relationship with God.

If God gives you a rose without giving Himself, He is giving you a thorn.  If God gives you a garden, without giving Himself, He is giving you a garden with a serpent.  If He gives you wine without the knowledge of God Himself, He is giving you that with which you may destroy yourself. - A.W.Tozer

God wants us to know that when we have Him, we have everything - we have all the rest.

Matthews 6:33

His mercy endures forever

A few days ago my son had a nasty fall in front of a hotel lobby in Kuala Lumpur.  The fall was so bad that it caused a crack in his skull and there was bleeding internally.

We received the news at six on a Sunday morning.  We were shocked and too trouble to speak but deep in our hearts we just believe Gods Sovereignty and control in the situation.

The journey from Penang to Kuala Lumpur was truly a testing time for both of us.  Through the discipline of waiting, we learn to submit and humble ourselves before God and trusting Him 

Praise and all glory be given back to Jesus, John was discharged from the hospital on the sixth days after a head surgery and is now recurperating at home.

Sometimes it takes something like an injury or a sickness to remind us of the masterful design that we carry around in our bodies.

Grace is getting what we do not deserve.  Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve.