Saturday, May 29, 2010
My lost Companion
I am terribly depressed at the moment. my trusty friend who was always with me, in thick and thin, giving me advice, and being a great role model for me. spending time with me, accompanying me when i was bored. even in school! especially during chinese lessons and sometimes even chem! he would never fail to be there when i needed him most. But alas, he has gone, his term has ended. i have with mixed feelings, completed reading the biography of Aiden Wilson Tozer, and it was a sad, sad day.
really, for those of you who have known me for a longer time, you would know that there are about 3 things i probably hate in life- Water. walking. and reading. It is very hard for a book to interest me, and should it not, its torture to read it. Yet this biography, was one of the most blessed things that i have read.
to me, a biography is one of the most boring things that anyone can read. i mean, wouldnt you think so? But what caused me to read this book, is (of course ultimately God, haha) but seriously, is my missions leader from YWAM, Tee. He was the one who recommended me the book(apparently i just talked to him, and he doesnt remember a thing) but nonetheless, its wonderful to see how God orchestrates everything for my good!
Really the book has been such a blessing. The interesting thing about this book, is that not only does it interest me, but it is a very light book, yet filled with many many insights that i have picked up. i think the wonderful thing about the biography is, its like reading an interesting story of a man after God's heart, and as you ponder over it, you draw the lessons yourself. I dont know how to explain it, but i just learnt so so much from it.
infact there were alot of times, where just after i have learnt something from it, it is almost immediately applicable, either to me, or to the people around me. how amazing God is!
This man has in some ways been my mentor across these few weeks, and has taught me many many things. but one of the things he taught me, was his pure desire to know God. He was not only a man of theology, but more so a man of prayer. He loved God and loved prayer, and loved meditation of His word, resulting in praise and worship and once again prayer. He forsook many many things to meet his responsibilities, to to them to the best of his abilities, to have his relationship with God in his private study, like time with friends "pleasure" but really, he didnt sacrifice much, for what he forsook was the nothing compared to what he gained, for in His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore!(Psa 16:11)
There was nothing he valued more, than time with God. In his whole life, he only missed his speaking engagements twice(you might think, thats 1 time too many. but you must understand, he probably had way more than a hundred speaking engagements in his life time) and it wasnt because of sickness. One of which was because he was playing checkers with his sons(HAHA), but the other was because he was so engrossed in prayer, he entirely did not know the time. I want to personally walk so close with God just like the way he did and even closer! i want to know firsthand, what caused him to make all those sacrifices, and just as he did i want to do what it takes as well.
David said he wouldnt give what didnt cost him much to God, so neither shall i hold back all that needs to be done. Hence im going on a computer fast for the next, 40 days. so i seek your prayer for me. thank you!
came at10:03 PM
Vanity of Vanities! that which life is! this is found in the book of Ecclesiastes probably written by Solomon although it isn't explicitly stated!
What's so interesting about this, is that if any of you have heard me evangelise spontaneously, one way that i commonly use, is something i derived from meditation on life. that as you really think about it, life (without God) is absolutely meaningless!
i used to say that i strongly believe everyone would eventually hit the age, where you realise life is entirely futile. where you either realise that you have no reason for slogging your guts out, or in the case of Ecclesiastes, you realise that the toiling all your life amounts to nothing, that life in itself, is futile, is "Vanity of Vanities"!
All these years i have evangelised to many people with the notion that life will be meaningless without God, who knew that this was entirely biblical! Recently, listening to a radio channel in the car,i came across this rather meaningful quote. it was in chinese(i know right?) for all you chinese illiterates out there, im gonna translate it. hahaha. yes:
"There can only be one thing worse than running out of money while your still alive,
not spending your money by the time your dead."
Okay, it was quite funny in chinese. ha. But this thought actually IS in the book of ecclesiastes! But its true isnt it? what exactly do you live all your life for, when man, like every beast in the world, would eventualy just die? this book may be rather confusing and stuff. but it is a wonderful book filled with insights about life.
And indeed you will realise that life really is meaningless without God, and the book ends of with a call for man, to fear God and obey His commands, and find meaning in life in Christ alone. Indeed, until man realise that our purpose in life is to have a relationship with the most High God, we will live our lives like "headless-flies"! Is that not a very sad sight, that all our friends around us are living absolutely meaningless lives? and what are we doing about it?
"
came at9:45 PM
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Vanity of Vanities!
3 gospel tracks for anyone who can tell me what this refers to and which book it is from without like, you know, googling it or anything, until i put up my next post. haha, i know the prize not very enticing la, haa, or you get a drink or something?
And no that was not an attempt to get you to comment even beacuse i have no comments. but it really is to highlight a simple thing, how often do we read the OT? (yes its from the OT so if you know your wrong, ha) Many a times we(note WE), pray to know and do God's will, for God to strengthen us, to make us wise in doing His work, but how do we actually get it? Through the meditation of His beautifully sufficient word! (Psalms 119:98-99) We are thoroughly equipped for EVERY good work, and made wise unto salvation by Scripture and Scripture alone!(2 Tim 3:15-16) It indeed is the very word of God, and let us take into consideration that when both Paul and the Psalmist wrote this, they had not the NT yet! Of course im not implying in any way that the NT is any less important, but rather the opposite, that the old testament is just as important, for together they give the full council of the Word!
So yes, actually i wanted to type the whole post here, but ran out of time, ha. so yes, the challenge is open until i actually start on my post, Vanity of Vanities. until then!
came at11:17 AM
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Flee from temptation
Okay. if any of you are saying that my blog is dead.... so be it. haha i started to blog when i felt like getting something off my chest, and i will continue to do the same. quoting from A.W Tozer, the only thing i shall write are things "that flow from the heart, forced out by the inward pressures." of course he was talking about writing a book, but sama sama la huh?
2 Tim 2:22 calls us to flee! flee from youthful passions. And im gonna be honest here, i dont know about you GUYS(yes for alot of you belonging to the strange female kind, it may not necessarily make sense to you at all), but that becomes harder and harder to do in an ever degrading society that we live in. and by degrading society, i really mean in conservativeness.
Seldom people hear my secret stand against FBTs. i personally dont understand how shorts that look like underwear(really any kind) can be wore so casually on the streets, although i dont really have a major thing against this. But this, is not what im talking about here.
What i am refering to, is the hot oral topic of the year, (yes it is! my teacher said so! hahaha), on Singaporean youths being very open in their expressions of love. and it really wasnt until i had the discussion in class when i started to realise the severity of the situation. as i was going to church from school one fine day, it was made not so fine with couples making out, literally everywhere i turn. and i would know because when i saw the first one, i actually continued reading my book. but was rather disturbed and distracted, so i turned the other way, only to see a similar scene. and then the train came, i walked in, same thing, all around. and im not exaggerating!
As i look at 2 Tim 2:22 again, i am then reminded, that it doesnt just stop at flee, and this goes out to all you people who actually face a similar situation as myself. for if you were to flee, where shall you flee too?(like really in my situation!) it says "pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, ALONG WITH THOSE WHO CALL ON THE LORD FROM A PURE HEART."(emphasis added). is it not clear? where else can we find righteousness, love and peace, where else can our faith be in that would fully satisfy ourselves and glorify God but in Christ? in calling on Him! in seeking Him with fellow believers!
Looking at the society that we live in, one cannot help but realise what a great need for Christ they have, we have! but thankfully, what a great Christ we have for our need! shall we still stay hiding in our cocoon and struggle alone in secret, or shall we seek the fellowship of believers, under the unity and covering of the Church and go forth to share God's love, in love that binds all things!
came at6:06 PM
