Are You a Laodicean?
So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out from my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)
Abraham Lincoln once said that if you want to test a man's character, give him power. I believe even as the Lord blesses us with a good life, along with it He seeks to test our character. For a lot of us, we are fortunate enough to be living in places that we are free to worship our God. We are blessed sufficiently that "give us our daily bread" appears to be a pious line in the Lord's prayer.
In our little comfort zone, we grow busy spinning the wheels of our world - career, family, entertainment, etc. We reduce God to a genie-in-a-bottle. We reduce church and fellowshipping with His people to just an optional extra curricular activity. We blissfully skate through life with spiritual amnesia, with disregard for what God had done for us once-upon-a-time-not-too-long-ago when we receive Him into our lives. We take the matters of the Lord for granted. Our prayers are shallow and self-serving. We become complacent and indifference sets in.
In this generation fueled by consumerism, many of us want to share Christ' glory, but not His suffering. Funnily but true enough, the pews will only be filled during prayer meetings when there is an economic downturn.
It is time that we cease all shallow talks, crass nonchalance and distasteful lukewarm responses that we are guilty against the body of Christ. God is, has always, and will always, beckon us to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him. Stop being a Laodicean. Be a genuine Christ-ian. For the willing soul, He constantly stirs up our hearts, challenging us to greater heights in our walk.
The Doors in Our Lives
This is supposed to be a mid-week thing. Since landing in Hong Kong last Tuesday afternoon, I spent the days talking my throat dry during training, which didn't do justice to my throat which already feels like a sandpaper. At night, I hit the bed early in attempt to rid off the flu bug.
I got this musing as I was pushing the door open into the gentlemen's washroom in the office, with stuffed up nose and watery eyes. Yes, God is very opportune when choosing the time to inspire me...
I'm sure we're all very familiar with the expression "open doors" in our prayers. We pray for open doors in our vocation, for evangelising etc. I reckon different doors are presented to us during our walk with God on earth. I would sum it up this way :
1) Open doorway - The door leaf is flung open, inviting us to just walk right through. This represents a firm confirmation from God, and all we got to do is just walk right through.
2) Closed and unlocked doors - Just a little effort to turn the knob, and we're on our way.
3) Closed and locked doors - Doors are locked either temporarily or permanently. A temporary locked door means that the timing is not right. God uses temporarily locked doors to develop a long-suffering character in us and teach us how to wait upon Him. A permanently locked door is also an answer - the answer is NO.
4) Brick wall with a mirage of an open doorway - Need I say more?? Only a fool will only see what he/she wants to see with disregard for the actual truth. It sure puts the expression "hitting the wall" (or "long phiak" for Hokkiens) into perspective! I have walked, briskly, into glass walls a few times in the past. The pain and embarassment is quite humiliating.
(To my defence, I suspect that each of those glass walls I walked into are treated with some anti-reflective coatings.....ok ok...you're probably laughing too hard now to listen to what I have to say. Go ahead, laugh at my expense...)
While the rest of my CG members are having a good time fellowshipping at David Leong's residence tonight, I am determined not to miss out. I shall engage some form of fellowship between the Holy Trinity and this broken trinity (me, myself and I). And since I will be spending the weekend in sunny Hong Kong, I shall come up with a list of things to entertain myself.
Uncompromisingly Yours, Oh Lord!
When Sarah got impatient, Ishmael became a household problem. Conspiring with Rebekah to steal Esau's birthright, Jacob found himself to be a runaway man. In both cases, Abraham and Jacob had astounding promises from God. But because both compromised in some shape or form, they had to deal with undesirable consequences. Interestingly, compromise has snowball effects. Jacob got cheated in return, married (or mis-married) a woman he didn't love, on a runaway again and had a dysfunctional family. Ishmael has been a problem to mankind every since - just watch CNN.
In our Christian walk, whether or not we compromised God is reflected by the choices we make - that little overchange by the cashier, that shot of whisky, that unequally yoked relationship. Compromise stems from our yielding to temptation, impatience or fear. Pathetically enough, some Christians seek to justify compromises using scripture as a pre-text for their justifications. If we look hard enough at the issue and cannot say "because God says so" with a straight-face, we simply have got it all wrong. The choices we make is an outward indication of an inward spirituality.
There are good reasons why God does not tolerate compromises against His Words. Firstly, the psychology of compromise undermines faith. We know that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Secondly, as God commands to be holy because He is holy (Leviticus 19:2), compromise implies a sub-standard spiritual stance. Thirdly, it taints our declaration of our love for God, because only those who truly love Him will do as He says (John 14:23-24).
Mid-Week Musings : Take a vacation!
Be still and know that I am God': the Latin imperative for 'be still' is vacate. God invites us to take a holiday [vacation], to stop being God for a while, and let him be God. Too often we of prayer as a serious chore, something that must be scheduled around other appointments, shoe-horned in among other pressing activities. We miss the point. God is inviting us to take a break, to play truant. We can stop doing all those important things we have to do in our capacity as God, and leave it to him to be God. Prayer allows me to admit my failures, weaknesses and limitations to One who responds to human vulnerability with infinite mercy.
Phil Yancey in Prayer-Does It Make Any Difference?
Of Paradox and Faith
I had quite a lively discussion last Friday night with some of the CG members. We took quite a while to warm up, we didn't had much time to really delve much, not withstanding the fact that I tend to talk too much! Nevertheless it was interesting conversation with the little time we had. I thought it would be worthwhile to pen it down...and perhaps invite some response from you all to this.
The topic of conversation was what is the greatest stuggle we have with our Christian walk. My answer to that, almost immediately, is that the Christian walk is a premium level of paradox. The Bible is full of such examples. From the beatitudes to the many examples on how Jesus associates himself with the sinners of His days. I reckon these stories make good bed-time reading material or even a good sermon material. I could agree to them in principle, nodding my head in 100% agreement.
However, I struggle mightily to agree to them experientially. At times, I get so worn down living out paradox principles that my head spins in hurricane proportions and sanity hangs by a thread. How do you, for instance, obtain victory by surrendering? Or the weak can say 'I am strong'? Or to die is to gain life? Principly, and perhaps doctrinally, it is probably easy to understand and even appreciate. Experientially, it is super-difficult to reconcile. It's one thing to question God why His principles are so when things are calm when you're sitting out on the bench, it is another kettle of fish altogether when you're in a midst of a situation where you are shoved to put into the experiential spot and is forced to deal with it. Suddenly God becomes the problem.
In the midst of my struggling attempt to put things in perspective, I was reminded by a dear sister about Isaiah 55:8 where the Lord declares "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither you ways my ways". Perhaps God is offering a solution...something which could appeal and beckons for reconsideration. It appeals to that measure of faith that we already have within us.
The Bible is explicit in stating that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Having said that, I think what Paul is basically giving us a choice : either I choose to be a smarty-pants and analyze until I paralyze, complain until the cows come home. Or I could choose to please God by having faith in Him, believing that He exist and rewards those who earnestly seek Him. At the end of the day, I reckon it is just a matter of choice and focus.
True, the Christian walk is a premium level of paradox. Therefore, the Christian walk requires a premium level of faith.
So What? Then What?
As young adults with the fuelling desire to take on the world, we all start off with our conceived ideals, dreams and ambition unique to each of us and bring it to the world with the hope that we could make a difference for God out there. Since each of us are unique children of God, I would like to think that we set out with Godly purposes and intentions, whether full-time service in His enterprise or His marketplace ministers. So off we set into the world, with great verve.
But there are two issues- it is a fallen world, and we are fallen beings. Left uncheck, our ambitions become our obsessions. The initial focus we set out with becomes shady and blur. We crave for recognition, power and money. Once we achieved that illusion of what the world defines as success, we become proud, boastful, ego-centric and often insatiable. We want more. The Lord gently taps on our shoulder and ask, "So what? Then what?"
Jesus asked what good is man who gains the whole world but loses his soul (Matt 16:26). After lamenting that all the riches and glory in the world is useless, Solomon was right when he concluded that we must fear god and keep His commandments with emphasis that it is our duty to do so (Ecc 12:13).
An initial slight off-tangent angle can set a course of an airplane into a very different direction. Keeping perspective of purpose and direction is crucially important. We are bombarded with massive amounts of information every day and how we respond to them will set the direction for us. In the human psyche, there are 2 elements to which we respond to measurably : greed and fear. I have learned that it is very easy to stir up discontent and paranoia. Only through thanksgiving and surrender that we can keep life in perspective.
As we embark on each milestone in our lives, remember the Lord will always ask "So what? Then what?". We don't need to a life of worldly success. We need a life of Godly significance - for the Lord, for our family and for our church.
In memory of our beloved Elder Dr. Koh Eng Kiat, who has returned to be with the Lord on 29 June 2007. You are the epitome of a life well-lived for God, the family and Full Gospel Assembly. You will be greatly missed.
Mid-Week Musings: A Franciscan Benediction
May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfot them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our childer and the poor.
Mid-Week Musings: A Franciscan Benediction
May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfot them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our childer and the poor.
Mid-week Musings : Keeping Company with God
Here, I believe, is the key to understanding what is most personal in prayer. We do not pray to tell God what He does not know, nor to remind Him of things He has forgotten. He already cares for the things we pray about…He has simply been waiting for us to care about them with Him. When we pray, we stand by God and look with Him toward those people and problems. When we lift our eyes from them toward Him, we do so with loving praise, just as we look toward our oldest and dearest friends and tell them how we care for them, though they already know it…We speak to Him as we speak to our most intimate friends - so that we can commune together in love.
Tim Stafford in Knowing the Face of God
