More

"There must be more than this
Oh breath of God, come breath within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for you"

I think there is a cry for MORE... Isn't there?

More of God's miracles, deeper fellowship, greater messages, clearer revelations, stronger Presence, more compassion / care...

May the Lord help us. Grant us Unity...

Job

One verse from Job was detonated in my heart this morning.

We all know the story of Job. Great Man, probably the Greatest around. Righteous Man. God allowed the Devil to strike his possessions, children, wealth. Then his health. His wife was no comfort. His friends were judgmental. In despair, cursing the day he was born.

He said many things in that state. But one verse stood out. In the midst of all these, he said, "I know my Redeemer lives".

You know, the praising God part did not last very long. Perhaps a couple of verses before he continued defending himself. But it was there. Can you say it? In the midst of everything? As though it were the only thing that matters. It is. He lives. He is alive. That is all that matters!

We sing it in the song "My redeemer lives". But this is such a different mood.. It is so so so much... deeper...

Left Behind

Recently read the first 5 of the series.. Man.. Its scary...

If even the Lamb has "Wrath", where can we find refuge? The most compassionate, the gentle Lamb... If its wrath turns on anyone, where else can anyone turn?

PS: Its even better than the show!!

In Christ Alone

Anyway.. I deliberately didn't say anything about the song today. I wanted to let it speak for itself. It was very tempting to speak about it though, so I will just do it here =p=p

In Christ Alone
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.


A few lines touched me greatly from these.. There was the line about "Till on that Cross that Jesus died, the Wrath of God was satisfied". Wow. What a way to put it. And how sad the lamb is! Wrath. A word we hardly hear of. Yet how real. For the Wrath of God is against mankind. If we can scarcely stand our parents / bosses wrath, how much more that of God! Yet He took that Wrath.

And next there was "Light of the world by darkness slain". Once again, wow. What a way to put it. How can darkness overcome light? Only if light allows itself to! For what is darkness but the absence of light? But of course, He burst forth into "Glorious Day"! He rose from the grave, and Sin lost its power over me, Death.

"Till He returns or calls me home"... Isn't that the desire of every Christian's heart? To be with Christ again for the first time. To see Him face to face. Yet even before that, "from Life's first cry, to final breath", He will command my destiny. As long as there is breath in us, He will take care of us...


PS: It sounds a little Hymn like doesn't it? =p
PPS: Thanks Nat!

Unexpected

Something I never expected to find =p

23 Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.

24 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil?

25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place, [d]
barley in its plot, [e]
and spelt in its field?

27 Caraway (a crop) is not threshed with a sledge, (that is, a very very big hammer)
nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cummin with a stick.

28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it,
his horses do not grind it.


Lol. God is quite humorous =p


But.. don't you think that is what is happening in the world?

Does one work forever? Is advancement for its own sake? Though he gains much money by work, it does not bring happiness or fulfillment. Does he not work to gain happiness?

Does one study the Bible, attend church and serve forever? Though he gains much knowledge and does many things, it need not bring one closer to God! Are these not to love God more?

Its as crazy to keep plowing as to just keep working or to just keep "doing".


(PS: Don't mistake me, I am not against work =p )

Context

Correct interpretation is better than Good interpretation...

Lost Generation

Lost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

Random..

1) Theory?

There is no such thing as mere theory! All "theory" is either true or false. Those true are of significance, and ought have effect on life (the practical?) if it applies. Those false are of no significance, or worse, are delusions. The main thing is not to find if something is good or bad, the first question is whether it is True!

2) Cool

A great friend of mine just said that "cool is those kind of pple who've an active social life, wear cool sunglasses n are adventurous n always jovial, large circle of friends, super popular" and that "to be well-liked one has to have a whacky sense of humour, be extroverted, and witty, and pple are attracted to those who've a magnetic personality not those who are extremely smart".

I don't think this friend believes it. But this comment is the lie society feeds us! The only thing more amazing than the lie is how people do believe it. My heart breaks.. Its just so.. shallow, so meaningless.. Its as though Goodness is being redefined.

And to make it even worse, Happiness is also being redefined. The second lie is that being Cool will make you happy. As if it will. Its the other extreme of the lie that being "Successful" will make you happy.

People are ever searching, ever trying to find, but never finding what they are looking for, because they do not look for it in the only place where it is found. In fact, they do not even know what they are looking for...

3) Work

Service / Spiritual Discipline done for its own sake is of no use. Yet at the same time, they are probably the only way to go beyond doing them for its own sake. Reading the Bible for the sake of reading it is no use, but perhaps, only by doing so can you find the God for whose sake reading the Bible is for. There is a paradox here which I have not the courage, nor the ability to explore. Should one do these things when one does not feel like doing so? Did not our Lord tell us to Count the Cost?

4) Disqualified

I hate it when I am "disqualified" from saying things by virtue of ability, situation, overcoming it already, not yet overcoming it, personality etc. In short, I dislike being stereotyped, being dismissed even before a fair hearing is given, being discounted even before being allowed to show what I have. True, I often have less than what is expected, even by myself. But still...

And of course, if the mindset is that I am disqualified, then naturally, what I say will be rejected on that ground, no matter what may be said...

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

------------

I love this song!!!!

Safe

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” - C S Lewis

Fault

It is difficult to heal a fault if you don't know that it exist, or even worse, know that it does but do not think it to be a fault.

In the past, John the Baptist came and told people to repent. People either repented or hated him for pointing out their flaws. But now, the postmodernist asks: "Of what?" They started with a real sense of sin, and the gospel was good news, giving a solution to sin. But we need to preach the disease first, before being allowed a hearing for the cure..

Homecoming

Hi everyone!!!

I will be coming back in a month's time! WooohoooOO~

Sorry for my lack of communication generally. It has been a pretty tough, but fulfilling year. I've settled in a smallish church called Grace Life Church here in Baltimore, and it is made up of a network of 3 churches, with 2 more church plants in the works.

These are busy and exciting times here in Baltimore, since the church is moving forward in terms of the leadership (new ministries, new leaders, new members....) and the church is blessed, despite its very small size, with visitors (5-10) every single week! The thing is, people move in and out of the city as work/studies require, which is why the membership hasn't skyrocketed.

As you know, the swine flu situation in US is getting worse, and Maryland (the state I am in) is beginning to see some cases. Therefore, I ask that you pray for the situation, such that I will not have to be quarantined when I get back from the US (precious days!!)!!!

I also encourage you to continue to pray for Shufen, Jason and the children, Do not let up on the battle.

I pray that you will continue to grow and mature as a cell, and I look forward to seeing all of you when I come back in June.

God Bless,
Cyrus