Mid-week Musings : God first!
Affluence is an easy habit to adjust to, and indulgence is easy to rationalize. What we need today are some radical Christians who will love for the Lord first and the world last.
~Larry Burkett~
Having a kingdom perspective is recognizing that God owns everything. Until that is rooted deeply in our beliefs, only then we can perceive that we are mere managers in God's enterprise, accountable for the stewardship of His resources.
Every Minute Prayer
One of the common question I get is whether I feel lethargic due to frequent travelling. I know where this question is coming at : the perils of coping with different time zones and in transit movement to and fro airports come to mind. My usual answer is no. There could be 3 reasons to it : 1) Probably it is because I just started travelling frequently since 6 weeks ago. I guess it is still too soon to comment. 2) I don't fly across different time zone, so that helps a lot. 3) I've discovered how time-efficient those "in-between" transit times can be. I usually use transit time in taxis, MTRs, MRTs, airport lounges etc. to do simple task that could be accomplished with small amount of time which I call "quick wins". I make a work and personal to-do list, jot down thoughts and inspiration, read a book or pray.
And speaking about praying, the amount of my time spent in short prayers, especially when I'm in taxis or rail transits, has significantly increased compared to the times when I was working locally in KL. I find short frequent and specific prayers throughout the day sustains me better than the usual good-morning-Lord and only-before-bed prayers. The more I think about this, the more I feel that it is necessary to keep God close to me, and me to God every moment of the day. Think about it this way : the world is in a mess. We are bombarded with tonnes of information every second. We are also required to make decisions throughout the day. It really puts the narrow gates that Jesus talks about in Matthew 6:13-14. Only by His mercy and grace that we are able to walk in His will. The answer lies in 2 Chronicles 16:9, which says, For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthn those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. God is the every-minute CEO of my life, and I need to be accountable to Him every step of the way.
Think about those times when you find yourself bored and idling. It is true that an idle mind is the devil's playground. But it is also true that it is an opportunity to establish a conversation heavenward. Chat up with God today.
Mid-week Musings - Investing in His Kingdom
Imagine for a moment that you are alive at the end of the Civil War. You are living in the South, but your home is really in the North. While the South you have accumulated a good amount of Confederate currency. Suppose you know that the North is going to win the war soon. What will you do with your Confederate currency?
If you were smart, there is only one answer to the question. You would cash in your Confederate currency for US currency - the only money that will have value once the war is over. You would keep only enough Confederate currency to meet your basic needs for that short period until the war is over.
The currency of this world will be worthless at our death or at Christ's return, both of which are imminent. For us to accumulate vast earthly treasures in the face of the inevitable future is the equivalent to stockpiling Confederate money.
The only currency of value in heave is our present service and generous giving to God's Kingdom. Jim Elliot, the martyred missionary, said it this way, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
~Randy Alcorn~
Self-Discipline
The ability to test desire by reason...to be resolute and ever in readiness to end natural vent and pain.~Aristotle~I defined discipline in the beginning of life as the choice of achieving what you really want by doing things you don't really want to do.~John C. Maxwell~All worthwhile men have good thoughts, good ideas, and good intentions, but precious few of them ever translate those into action.~John Hancock Field~
When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves.~John C. Maxwell~The price of greatness is responsibility.~Winston Churchill~
It is true - when you do the things you ought to do when you ought to do them, the day will come when you will do the things you want to do when you want to do them. Hard work is the accumulation of the easy things you didn't do when you should have.~John C. Maxwell~
I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.~John D. Rockerfeller Jr.~Success depends not merely on how well you do the things you enjoy, but how conscientiously you perform those duties you don't.~John C. Maxwell~
It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.~Winston Churchill~Everyone to who much is given, from him much will be required~Jesus Christ in Luke 12:48~
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.~Abraham Lincoln~I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline.~Vince Lombardi~Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on~Louis L'Amour, on when asked the key to his writing style
Mid-week Musings
I would be true, for there are those who trust me;I would be pure, for there are those who care;I would be strong, for there are those who suffer;I would be brave, for there is much to date;I would be friend of all - the foe and the friendless;I would be giving, and forget the gift;I would be humble, for I know my weakness;I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift.~Howard A. Walter~
Sowing into people's lives
Coming down to Singapore, I recently had a chance to meet an old friend and former course mate of mine during university. We had not been keeping in touch since he left for flying school 2+ years ago. He is now back in Singapore with SIA and will have his maiden flight to South Korea. Upon knowing that I will be in Singapore, one of the things we quickly did was to meet and catch-up.
We were amusing ourselves in reminiscing our university days. But more importantly, we are able to look back in awe of God's faithfulness in our lives. There is one point in our conversation where I mentioned that whatever he sees in me today is a reaping of what he had sown from the first time we met. I couldn't agree more with what Pastor Stuart said - people and relationships matter. No matter how good an evangelistic event, people will ultimately response because of the "you" factor - they know you well and seen the difference in you. During the early days of my faith, I had some not-so-good runs with a church that I was attending, which makes me less receptive to invitation to church events. I have always maintained that evangelism is not a sales pitch for Christ. I met this brother during Numerical Methods course in my 2nd year of uni. He strikes me as a person who is genuine with his friendship. Some of you may already know that I thoroughly dislike pretentious and hypocritical people, particularly those who some one thing and meant/acted the other way. I appreciate his honesty with some of his struggles, and deep down I know he loves God oh so very much. And in the earlier days, I also discovered something profound in him was his non-judgemental attitude towards me when I was cynical about a few issues in my life. All he did was just look into me and nodded his head. Not a word of refute. It was incredible...I can't do that myself, if I were him, I would have probably shot that person down.
The point that I am arriving to is this : never underestimate how God can exponentially increase the harvest of the small gestures of kindness you've sown in someone's life. It is by far one of the richest experience one can ever have. Today, I am who I am in Christ because one brother extended his friendship to me. Of course, along the way, I also cross path with other very good people whom I owe much of who I am today. How simple it can start. People and relationship matter - start sowing in someone's life today. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. God is faithful and will honour you with harvest according to the measure of faith you sow.
Captain Lee, cheers to you and God bless you aboundingly! God is so good.
Living in Anticipation
What if you know that Jesus will return tomorrow? How ready are you to give an account of your life to Him? Would you be scrambling in the last minute to do all you can to renounce accumulated sins and make right all accumulated outstanding "wrongs" before the Lord? Unless it is your daily lifestyle to keep short accounts, chances are you can't do all those in 24 hours.
The question is simple yet so pivotal in questioning the fundamentals of our walk with Christ. It is true that the Bible says that we are justified by our faith in Christ. It is also true the Bible also says that we are saved for good works. These 2 elements are complementing, not mutually exclusive to each other. Christ would never ever suggest that we retain a complacent lifestyle knowing that we will all go to Heaven.
It is so important to adapt a lifestyle that is anticipative to His return. It is a lifestyle of obedience to His Word and is reflective the glory of Jesus Christ. There ought to be such a sense of peace, integrity and love, so outstanding that it attracts people to you so much so that they want to find out your formula to a successful live. When that happens, be ready to share the gospel of Christ. (bible verse).
Our position before the Lord ought to be that we are consistently ready for His return at any one time. How anticipative are you towards His return?
Mid-week Musings : Know the truth, and it shall set you free
It is to him who masters our minds by the force of truth, and not to those who enslave them by violence, that we owe our reverance.
~Voltaire~
I can't help but reforwarding this previous article that I wrote 4 weeks ago when I came across Voltaire's quote today. In his book Letters on the English, Voltaire relates that during his stay in Engalnd, in 1726, he overheard some learned men discussing the question : who was the greatest man - Caesar, Alexander, Tamerlane or Cromwell? One speaker maintained that Sir Isaac Newton was beyond a doubt the greatest man. Voltaire agreed to this judgement with the quote above.
I am not sure whether Voltaire was completely convinced that Sir Isaac Newton was the greatest man who ever lived or was simply making a philosophical point. But the anecdote is so true, as if complementing John 8:32. We truly owe our reverance to Jesus Christ, who is the Revealer of the Kingdom Truth.
A couple of weeks ago, a brother requested that I share some of the reading materials which I've been reading lately. Well, here it is :
1. Your Work Matters to God (Doug Sherman)
2. Second Choice (Viv Thomas). Oh yeah, read this together with the Book of Daniel. It gives marvelous insightful depiction of what it means to be a servant of God in a secular world. Very relevant, very enlightening.
3. What is So Amazing About Grace (Philip Yancey)
4. Developing the Leader in You (John C. Maxwell)
5. God is My CEO (can't remember who the author is).
