looking out for gems in life

sometimes, once in a while, God challenged me to look beyond the circumstances. to look beyond the faces. and He challenged me to do the things i don't want to do at first; or to do in a direction i never thought i would go.

For example : books. Last night there was a counter for 'good' books: the JI Packers, Eugene Petersons, and Richard Fosters. I only took a quick glance since knowing most of the books on display there. then there was another counter : the unwanted , heavily- disconted , all-out-clearance section. and guess what? i found the book that i couldn't find in other stores: eg. Michael Chang's autobiography - and in hard cover somemore. i bought 2 other books last nite. sometimes , you got to give the unwanted section a chance. you never know who you meet, or what you find.

we clutter for glamour. we pay attention to the most-prized assets and top intellects. but we never stopped and appreciate ordinary , mostly ignored aspects of life. be it people or circumstance. the highs and lows of the lesser paid folks never find the spotlight . the highs and lows of wall street finds its way to the front page of any newspaper. and in an unknowing way, we do desire in some ways , to experience the 'wall-street' experience rather than a more calm , slow , ordinary life.

to walk the road no one fancies. you never know what you will find.

reflection

Good news cannot exist without the bad news, the bads news cannot exist unless there is good news. we like to talk about the salvation and the good of it , but how about talking about sin? we may have the hope of the good news, but the consequences of bad news very much still exist. yes, preaching justification is good. but how about sanctification? that would put salvation in another light! that would make all of us involved in discipleship. just look at the lives of those who come to God for health and wealth. would not it be the same if our God stop blessing and healing? now i understand why piper calls the health and wealth circus idolatry.

Bible Reading Plans

Here's one i discover... it is in 'chronological' order... *which leaves the NT to be studied in the last quarter of the year.

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

this is the one i am following .... which gives you 4 different types of passages a day.. it is kinda distracting... i am on track to finish OT this year(less proverbs), and to carefully read the NT in its entirety next year.

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearbiblereadingplan.pdf

one book at a time reading plan ( from DJ) ... i tried this in 2007... at least wont kill you with 4 different readings... very gracious at the same time.. allows you to catch up on the 7th day... and read one main scripture alongside with an accompanying wisdom literature... Isaiah is taken out cos it is considered to be a wisdom lit in this sense. true enough, i think isaiah can be read chapter by chapter, rather on a whole.
http://www.navpress.com/uploadedFiles/BRP2.pdf

now i know that there are 260 chapters of NT - to be read one for each day!(minus the weekends...hehe)
here is the 5x5 reading plan... looks neat ... looks like for beginners.... looks like what i need....
http://www.navpress.com/uploadedFiles/5x5x5_BRP.pdf

Warming Up to God

Think of a time when you have been overwhelmed with the reality of the darkness and evil which is present in our world. How did you find comfort?

911. Superhero movies. When darkness and evil is real, it points to the fact that this world is sinful and is fallen. Satan loves to attempt to destroy and distort. He is like committed to it . Someone needs to set things right. Oppression and injustice cannot possibly last forever; something inside us tells us so. think of batman. joker cannot possibly last forever, he knows that his time is short - much like satan. the world needs a saviour to set things right.

i loved the x-men/ watchmen concept. we are all born either for good or for bad. we are all super-heroes manifested by the Holy Ghost. We regenerated by the spirit to put things correctly on earth. we are supposed to be the agents to usher in the righteousness of God.

More than anything else, Isaiah taught me to trust in a sovereign God. Comfort comes when one looks upon the sufferings of Jesus. He went there to suffer for a better cause. He went there to suffer to save mankind; to save us from the evil and darkness that Satan has blinded us and trapped us with. Jesus understands pain and suffering.

Indeed, we have a Servant Messiah . He came to serve and not to be served.

Death is not the end. Billy said that it is only a station in life, one that you need to prepare to get off.

Reflection for today

i am dead tired from watching wall-e... 13 ppl turn up today! wow... it has been a great week...

the pastor told us to count our blessings during service today... to find the joy in what we DO have , and not what we DON'T have...

so i decided to take a photo of what i DO have in life...




here's a photo of my baptism gifts... from bizad ppl, they gave me a jean bible! how interesting, then sien gave me this book by Ryle on Holiness, then the DVD from CG, a john stott devotional (which i am reading right now) from my brother, and a car plate from william! wow.. i am blessed... oh plus my lincoln brewster CD is not included in the picture.... it is loaned out...



here's like my shelf of books that i will never finish in my entire life... from my bible... to systematic theology to commentaries to spiritual disciplines + formation.... i am too blessed ... will i ever stop buying and start reading? haha... God really give me the right resources and teh right time... * erm this is like my daily reading items... i grab and read whatever i can from this list... of cos there are still MANY other books... it is covetousness , i need to watch out..

A Wise Ruling

1 kings 3:16-28
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

19 "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."

22 The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours."
But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

23 The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' "

24 Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"
But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

27 Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
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this passage strikes me this morning. we all know that this passage comes after king solomon had asked for wisdom. now i was thinking thru the issue of practical wisdom (along with ecc 7 in the morning) , and this passage shines thru in my mind while on my way to orchard. wisdom is seen not just in the thinking, but significantly in the application process that leads to outcome or result. there are usually 2 extremes when dealing with problems: (1) sweep it under the carpet (avoidance of problems) ; (2)deal with it head on with harshness

here are some observations from this passage:
1. King solomon assume responsibility to even listen to 2 prostitutes. he could have passed this issue to someone else to settle it, however as the issue has come into his courts, he took up the responsibility to try to solve the issue .

2. did he deal with harshness? on surface, he seems to thought of a ridiculous idea of splitting the child into 2. but he made the resolve of thinking of the bigger picture; he KNOWS what goal he is working towards. He sees the sun . (ecc7: 11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.)
bottom line: know what direction you are heading and choose the most appropriate outcome you want to see.

3. he did not split up the child. of cos, he didn't . but in the course of it, you also see his power and authority, the first woman did believe he has the power to do it. do all leaders have the same power?

the lesson i learn this morning is that wisdom is to consider ALL ends of the issue. and to work towards what is the best and appropriate outcome (NOT necessarily a win-win situation). Sometimes it would be better to settle for a win-lose,lose-win situation if the issue call for it! eg. sacking a staff? removal of someone who is a disturbance in the team.

quoted :
ii. Trapp on bring me a sword: "For what purpose? Thought the standers by; wondering and perhaps laughing within themselves. The actions of wise princes are riddles to vulgar constructions: nor is it for the shallow capacities of the multitude to fathom the deep projects of sovereign authority."

They feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice: The people of Israel saw that Solomon had both the wisdom and the courage to do the right thing as a leader. This made them hesitant to disobey the law of the king.

An isolated leader

NIV: Advancement Is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 4: 13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning. 14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king's successor. 16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

From New Bible Commentary: An isolated leader. Some ambiguous pronouns in v 14 mean that this passage can be read in several ways. The NIV is probably correct. The elderly king of v 13 was wise once (as no longer suggests) but lost his wisdom. The word for poor refers to humble origins. Youth ranges in age from teens to forties. In v 14 his refers to the king. A young man arises; he had everything against him but the king became isolated (implied in v 15). The isolation of the older man led to the success of the younger. The younger man was successful for a while (15). In v 16 before them means ‘were their subjects’. For the younger man also popularity was not lasting. [p. 613] He repeated the cycle. Two main points that are true universally arise from the story: that isolation is part of the painfulness of human experience, and that the new generation did not solve the problem of the older generation (see 1:9-11).

Ryan's reflections.
leaders come and go. every generation complain about the leaders of their time; and they seem to always think they have the know-how or answers to solve problems. "wait till you become a leader youself.... wait till you become a father yourself" while there may me some truth, the point of reflection is : it is meaningless. there will surely be something people will not be satisfied with - either with the current life or with the life to come. (assume one believes and go to heaven!) leaders come, leaders go... no one can outlast God. It is still God who decides who shall reign, who shall end well, and who shall end badly. He is sovereign ; if there is anything to ask... (see ecc 3:14-15)

Reflections this morning...

On what do you base your sense of self-worth?

I was thinking through the Isaiah study that the opening question struck me... cos the question(although it is a good one), doesn't seem to link up with the rest of the study.

Then i was wrong...

It is a watch-me-perform world. We hold high esteem of people who have achieve something in life. We worship them. From politicians to entertainers ; from professors to pastors. Often we asked, what can you do for me? ie rephrase: what makes you think you are worthy to come into MY circle? we like to hear stories of people who earn their way to great success; rags to riches stories: eg.from 'too many examples' and now Obama! it fuels our competitiveness. " hey , i am worth more than you!"

i like to present my thoughts in 2 levels: 1. false gods ; and 2. false spirituality

1. false gods.
firstly false gods. we conveniently used false gods to prove our self worth. for eg. which school you come from? what is your grades? what title you hold in your office? where did you go for holiday last year? how much did you earn? what achievements did you have in your previous post? what reputation do you carry? how big is your church? rephrase: body,bucks and buildings. we COMPETE in terms of these things. it makes us feel good if we have them; or more than others. we feel bad if we don't have them. it makes us feel small and powerless.

Israel is sent out into the world to be a WITNESS(repeated) for God in the midst of idol-worshipers. But often not, Christians are being absorbed into the world of idols. Or another extreme: what commissioned by God to be good has now being distorted to be a self-serving agenda. Eg. God tells us to be fruitful and multiply and to advance the world. But now we have taken that command to abuse the earth's resources , and to advance the world of technology , only to serve our own innate needs. Our selfish needs. One can think of environmental pollution to internet pornographic industries. We are supposed to be witness in a dying and decaying world (see matt 5 salt and light illustration). But we end up dying and decaying together with the rest of the world. That explains why our identity in the world is very important; maybe that is why God repeatedly remind us of the convenantal relationship we have with him and how we are being set apart for His work.

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me. isa 43:10

2. so maybe you think you had renounce these idols in your life, and manage to walk the tight rope in the Christian world- shouldn't life be full of high-5s and hallelujahs? here's another danger even among faithful Christians: we easily slip into a mode of false spirituality - a competitiveness so insidious only few spotted it. We now compete in terms of the spirituality of people. not on the outward things, but inward piety. some call this spiritual pride- which i agree. Beware of those who burn offerings for the sake of burning offerings; memorizing scriptures for the sake of memorizing; going to church for the sake of going to church; serving for the sake of serving. in simple words: sacrifices without the heart.

You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices. isa 43: 23

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise. ps 51:16-17

i believe both issues i have discussed leads to what we know as spiritual dryness... nothing really satisfies within, and the solution is not to do more to prove our worthiness. It is coming back to our whole identity before God. Learning to accept ourselves as how God would have accepted us. He accepted us based on election, grace and unconditional love; not based on merits and what we can do for God.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life. isa 43: 4

we have to come back to accept ourselves with who we are,and gratefully accept what God has called us to do. Not everyone will earn the same fame and fortune in life; so stop comparing.

a healthy tree will always be healthy.. so renew, refresh and restore! always go back to the inner life...

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.

They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams. isa 44: 3-4

Thoughts on prayer....

Here's a scenerio:
Boy likes girl. Boy chases girl. Boy prays:Lord,i wished that you grant me this girl as my girlfriend.So after prayer, he went ahead to approach the girl. The girl is not interested and start to avoid the boy. Girl prays: 'Lord, keep this guy away from me, send another guy... erm... make it cute.' Surely one will end up:'Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!' ; and another will end up:' How long O Lord?' Did God answer prayer?

Here's another one...
A vacancy in a company. 2 christians applied. Both prayed. surely one will be disappointed. Surely one will end up:'Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!' ; and another will end up:' How long O Lord?' Did God answer prayer?

what's my point? God does answer prayers; it comes in the form of Yes,No or Wait. Dont expect God to answer prayers as according to your will and wishes....

i spoke to an aunty in church yesterday. She told me, as parents, they are praying for their children and children's children. I bet her other aunties also pray for their sons: to get the right job, to get the right girls( or for that matter, Lord, please keep the WRONG girl from coming to my boy...) , to enter into the right ministry... what i wonder who is praying on the 'other' side - maybe employers are praying that they will not want this guy in their company; maybe their son is a jerk breaking a girl's heart,the girl may be crying out injustices to God... maybe the pastor would not even want to consider this guy for ministry.

who is right? who is wrong? we don't know... only God knows....

it points to another aspect here... God considers ALL prayers, but surely he is in control and sovereign , and make the best possible path for all participants in light of his manifested wisdom.

Perhaps , just perhaps... the guy needs to grow up before getting the girl;
or God could send the guy to the girl as a form of suffering & evil -so that the girl can grow up. Either way, someone will grow up? right?

Reflection on Isaiah 40

Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD,

or what man shows him his counsel?
Isaiah 40:13

God is so great. Why do we need to tell him how to run this earth? Sometimes, our prayers just go on to show our childish faith, rather than the child-like faith. If God is so great, yet still allow certain things to happen in life eg. evil & suffering, then there is a message waiting for us from God. Look closely at 40:2; Israel warfare is ended. God already knows the end before the end comes. Why did the writer had such confidence about the outcome when the Babylonians were just at the door step? Because he knows that the victory already belongs to the LORD! We are praying from victory, not for victory. Through the toughest of times, we are inviting God to point us to the direction that will lead us back home. We will be removing obstacles in our hearts to prepare the way for him! (v.3 –v.5) Make every effort to make clear the path for the King to enter into our hearts! Through suffering and pain, our accolades, emotions and pride becomes minute in comparison to the glory of the coming King. We learn to surrender control. We learn that God has a better way for us. And the great shepherd will gently lead us along the valley of the shadow of death (v.11c ; cf Ps 23). God the creator of heavens and earth to come on earth itself to lead and guide his lost sheeps. What a beautiful sight to behold! The hardest work is already done through the atonement provided by Jesus on the cross. Since it is already done, what is there to fear? Why do I still want to tell God how to run this world, how messed up is he, why is he not doing as according to my will and wishes. Because the Father knows better. The Father knows what is good for the child. The Father knows when to call his son back. More than anything else, I must learn to trust MY God, who through his wisdom already knows what I need before I tell him. (Matthew 6:8)

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

Matthew 11: 25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.[a] 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

After a long exposition on missions, and possible suffering and persecution that the sheeps have to go thru ( see the doubt that John the Baptist had.), Jesus now is making a conclusion of sorts. It is an exclusive relationship that Lord Jesus brings us into. And this relationship cannot come by forced or by merit. It has to be revealed to us through the lord Jesus. And surprisingly in v.25 we see that it is not those who are intellects or those who had figure a way out on their own , who will find this 'secret' path; it is a way only provided by God to a very special bunch of people: his children. Indeed, child-likeness is a kingdom characteristics, not knowing everything, but humbly obey everything that is being revealed to us. Obedience plays a very important part in discipleship: will one come under the yoke of Jesus to find the true freedom? (stott); as opposed to the freedom the world offers: to do whatever you want with no consequence? ( of cos that is a lie) gentle and lowly in heart echoes that of Matt 5:5 -> blessed are the meek(gentle) for they shall inherit the land. And for those who allow themselves to be lowered in status and come in humble submission to the lordship of christ, surprisingly would find themselves that discipleship is 'easy and light'; only one who tries it would reap such an experience, it is not problem-free but the journey is made easier when God is near us, always with us.