Radical love

To love at all is to be vulnerable. ~ C.S. Lewis

Today, we had a sobering reminder that love is not self-seeking but rather, self-denial.
The self seekers expect gain from a relationship but God wants us to think about his concept of love and see love in a different light.

Here in Luke Chapter 6:27-36 is a snippet of what God's love is about: loving your enemies. One who study his words will wonder what he mean when he said that "to him who strikes you in one cheek, offer the other also(1). And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either(2). Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back(3)."

That's insane! You mean I have to do this literally? Just what is Jesus getting at?

1. In the midst of rejection, Jesus wants us to continue to serve Him even if it mean exposing yourselves to the threat of rejection. Love is vulnerable, likely subjected to repeated abuse.

2. One should not seek revenge but remain exposed. One should also be willing to take even more risks because of love.

3. One is to be generous (= putting others' needs first = self-denial) and not keep count.

Such self-denial is the essence of love. The consummate example is the cross, where Jesus gave to those who had taken.

• When God commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves did it occur to you that our neighbours actually include our enemies?
• Having known the love of God, are we sensitive to the conditions of our neighbours? Do we put ourselves in their shoes before we judge them?

May God's love compel us to love like how he loves us.

God is always ready to love

The parable of the prodigal sons tells us that we have a father unlike any other.
We may not be ready to be God's children but God is always ready to be our father.
We may not be ready to be God's lamb (Isaiah 53:6) but God is always willing to take care of us.

Have we yet to lay our deadly 'goodness' down before Jesus and embrace him as our only good?

ref : http://download.redeemer.com/sermons/The_Prodigal_Sons.mp3

thousands of words

崎岖高低... sorta.

Its quite black and white. 黑白记忆 i guess..

Our dear Lord isn't away when we're down, neither is he just standin' there. He brought along tissues...

Shoes left in a hurry. "Proof" of abandonment. Oh God! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!

My bible. In there is the promise of fellowship on the journey of the cross.. the dude in the song doesnt think the promise is true.. hence the bible's discarded and collecting dirt.. well, sand.

Plain: memories sealed in a bottle. Imperishable. The bottle was some really robust stuff, i tried to crack it open with a piece of solid metal... didnt work.. or maybe the heat from the sun was really getting into me.

The cone shell, recorder of the sea. You listen to it and hear the sound of the sea, right?

Hence, instead of really somehow projecting (or photoshopping) memories into the night sky, here's the substitute.

The sleeping bag represents "having had" the dream. It saves the photographers alot of trouble which will be incurred should the photos be taken at night.

- photo by Tucky

Dear Dominant 7th,

Footprints in the Sand once told me its lesson with great force – His great love and faithfulness, my blindness and weakness. Through the years, it has lost its impact on me. I would recognize it immediately in its clichéd form, printed on a photograph of a set of footprints (or two) on the sand by the beach, and go, “Ah, THAT story, I know how it goes” then move on to other things, without giving it another thought.

Weeks of uninspiring rehearsals passed and I wondered if there’s any worth in singing this song at all? Surely you guys have heard, read and seen this, now even sung it more than a dozen times. Is there anything more, something to inspire an inspiring rendition, perhaps?

你说只要紧紧跟随你
你会陪我走到底
为何当我最忧伤低迷
你却选择远离

I saw myself staking a claim to a promise that He’s made, suggesting that I was faithful even in the tough times and implying that He did not keep His side of the bargain to walk with me. As I began to read between the lines, I saw a child, an ego-centric child, thinking like a child, talking like a child, having not the slightest idea what was actually happening. Beneath all the hurt, pain and disappointment lay self-righteousness, demanding that I be rightfully rewarded for what I had done.

“……
亲爱的宝贝我疼你
永不会将你撇弃
当你软弱
双脚无力
可知道狂风中
我怀抱着你 ”

How little I understood of His grace!
If He hadn’t chose me, called me, would I have followed Him?
If He hadn’t carried me, kept me, would I have continued on this path with Him?
Did I even have the capacity, the strength to do anything righteous out of my own accord?

It’s only when we come to grips with our total depravity that we begin to comprehend the depth of His love and open our eyes to His infinite glory.

May His love be our inspiration this Sunday, for us to carry each note with gratitude for His glory.

Love, Apple

yes, during sermon there was this voice resounding in my head.
must write, must write....

well the verse for the sermon was phil 1:9
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

as usual, a chinese methodist pastor would go and say
hence, we must achieve a balance between our biblical knowledge and our love for one another.

that'd miss the point, because there is no balance to speak of if true spiritual knowledge results in greater love: which you'll discover in verse 10
10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
Not reckless love, but righteous God glorifying love.

thank God, the pastor didnt go "as usual" and delivered the message as it is.

my contention? balance.
i dislike the word balance because people just misunderstand it.
this is imbalance, as many think, and are right in think so..
____
____
____
____
____ ____
____ ____
balance, as they think


____ ____
____ ____
____ ____
____ ____
not so, balance isnt the compromise of one leading to the rise of another.
If the rows on the left represent knowledge and the right represents love, what are we saying?
that an avid reader of the bible and spiritual books should put down his book and start trying to manufacture affections of love for the people around him?
Not so, if he is lacking in love, let him repent. What safer way to repent than to continue keeping himself deeply rooted in meditation of His word?
The Christian balance is radical, it is not a compromise:
____ ____
____ ____
____ ____
____ ____
____ ____
____ ____
This, is then a balance worthy of being called "Christ-likeness".
God is infinite, and has infinite zeal in everything he does. His justice, His mercy, the wrath He made Jesus bear on the cross, His love, His glory etc.
If as Christians we seek to conform to the image of Christ, then such is the balance we want to seek in our lives.
And God isn't being harsh on us by demanding such a standard. Refer to the message at the start of this post!
God says to you that if indeed you comprehend (hence grow) in knowledge, then your love will be refined, will grow, as well!

He has prepared ahead of us a perfect mechanism to help us.
Hence, do not be discouraged, it isn't easy, but God already knows.

2010

"Time has no divisions to mark its passage; there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols."

-- Thomas Mann

My sentiments exactly. But count each day, we must, and make each day count.

Each day is as new as the one that starts the year.
Every moment is a new beginning, a new resurrection–
dying to our old selves, living in Christ, with Christ, for Christ.

"Teach us to number our days aright,
____that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
- Psalms 90:12

Giving thoughts, giving thanks

This year's Christmas is quite different from the rest. For one, this year's focus is more of outreach than celebratory. Hence, instead of bringing the usual 'is christmas about presents' punchlines, we brought the congregation to look inward and reflect on life and also what it means to live a meaningful life.

I think the recent skit not only prompted others to think but also to act. Through the characters in the skit, we may see a shadow ourselves. Did you identify yourself with any of the characters?
Personally, I have. I saw a shadow of my old self in the mathematician, one who is mostly driven by logic than feelings and adding to his task-oriented personality, you can say he is close to being a cyborg(half robot). And as I observed the optimistic girl, I thought perhaps there are situations where others need more practical help but we end up only saying words like 'don't worry so much'.

This Christmas season called me to take an exercise of faith to stretch it. I felt God asking me to think about what I can give and give. Hence, I ruminated about giving. It brought me to a story called A Giving Tree. A summary of the story goes like this.

The Giving Tree is a tale about a relationship between a young boy and a tree in a forest. The tree always provides the boy with what he wants: branches on which to swing, shade in which to sit, apples to eat, branches with which to build a home. As the boy grows older he requires more and more of the tree. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut her down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail. The boy leaves the tree, now a stump. Many years later, the boy, now an old man, returns and the tree says, "I have nothing left to give you." The boy replies, " I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree then says, "Good! A tree stump is a great place to do just that! Come boy, sit down and be happy." The boy obliged and the tree was happy.

Though this story has got little relation with Christianity, I know Christ also called us to devote our lives to love/serve others.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 john 3:16

As I read John Piper's Sermon about "He Who Sows Bountifully Will Reap Bountifully", God revealed to me that a heart which gives sparingly thinks not about the giving but actually the keeping. When we say 'spare my life', we want to keep it from God. But of course, God would want you to 'spare no effort' (which means hold back no effort) , not getting weary of doing good for His glory.

By God's grace, I actually formulated a concept from John Piper's sermon. It is simply packed into two words called give thanks. This phrase is pretty common isn't it? But when you meditate on the words and see what you get together, it is all pretty fascinating.

We look at the word give and think of God. Do we see God more as a giver or a taker? We know God gives and takes away but do you see him giving you more than He takes? Is loss not considered gain? God is definitely a giver and he blesses us abundantly. If it is a fact which does not change, then it makes Him a giver before and after our giving. This makes one wonder about the multiplier effect when I think about God's giving and how his giving enable us to give to others.

Now with what I have gathered,we look at the word thanks. It is a word of gratitude and I believe it is a godly attitude. When we want to thank God for things, we acknowledge that he gave (or take away) for divinely good purposes. We should thank God that he gave and continues to give us abundantly for every good work. We should thank God for the fact that it is more blessed to give than to recieve. And in the act of giving and thanking God, not only blessings will be multiplied but also that more will give thanks to Him.

And there you have it! I call this concept the give thanks cycle.
Let this post be a prompt to live a life which seeks God for who He is and gives thanks to Him.

A thrill of hope

Some time last week, I read the lyrics of the song O Holy Night. Then I stopped at this line.

"...A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices..."

Thrill: a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement, sometimes manifested as a tremor or
tingling sensation passing through the body.

Yes. The savior's birth brought this thrill of hope! His presence caused an immediate and sudden change. There is none as influential as Him. And we rejoice today because back then the angels brought great tidings of joy which will be to all people.

But why was the world weary? Let's take a look at Matthew 11:28-29.

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Here Jesus gave an open invitation. To who? To those who are burdened by their spiritual bankruptcy and the weight of trying to save themselves by keeping the law.

Jesus came to fufill the law(Matt 5:17) and promised righteousness to everyone who believes(Romans 10:4). This meant that believing in Christ the Lord and Savior ends the sinner's futile quest for righteousness through his imperfect attempts to save himself by effort's to obey the law.

It is by God's grace, undeserved.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

今天从崇拜中所领悟到的一重点：

主耶稣真的很尊贵。（希1：1-4）

所以的确很难想象，撇下尊贵威严到底是何等一回事。

是超乎人的思考能力范围吧。。。

（我有时连为主撇下我舒服的单人床都不愿意）

What is Glory? What is Majesty?

What's more, What does it mean to put those down? From riches to rags...

嗨，人的弊病就是把宝贵的看为粪土，把粪土看为宝贵的。

提醒自己要时刻反省、咀爵耶稣荣耀的真理，从而更深体会他降卑的奥秘。

The significance of Adventus

Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus; in other words, the period immediately before Christmas.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure for the second coming of Christ.

It is a reminder to stop.
And remember that throughout life we are waiting for something big; something that requires our attention and preparation: the second coming of Christ.

May the Lord give us grace today for whatever that comes tomorrow.

等待……

忘了是谁曾经对我说：“等待是最美丽的浪费。”


想象当年
黑暗世界在哀哭与呻吟中等待救世主的出现
将罪污洗涤

活在今时
忠心子民在希望与应许中期盼主基督的再来
将万有归于
一


忘了是谁曾经对我说：“等待是最美丽的浪费。”


那天
我在他人手所筑的坑里呆了一阵子
发现
一块世人都瞧不起的木头

那天
祂在人手所筑的刑具上挂了一阵子
成就
一个超乎世人所能想象的奇迹
一条出路

这天
他已在坑里呆上好些日子
等待
一个我们都得付上的代价


忘了是谁曾经对我说：“等待是最美丽的浪费。”

Only Grace.

"Only grace from God can bear the weight of life."
- Peter Chao




We fight with grace, in the battle of living.

My Song is Love Unknown

I prefer its Chinese translation.

Words: Samuel Crossman (1664)
Music: Unknown

歌颂无比大爱
深奧奇妙难猜
加於冷酷之人
铁石心肠为开
主竟为我道成肉身
捐躯舍生苦杯独饮

主曾舍弃宝座
成全救恩为我
人不认识天父
竟将主恩错过
基督是我最好朋友
舍弃生命赎我愆尤!

有人以衣铺路
对主热烈拥护
前簇後拥高唱
和散拿归基督
竟又大声叫釘死衪
要把衪高悬在十架

人们如此恨主
究竟是何緣故
衪使跛者行走
又使盲者复睹
但这些人妬忌愤慨
同施毒計将衪谋害

我愿永远歌颂
主爱何等高崇
从无如此大爱
从无如此苦痛
因衪是我天朋良友
我愿歌唱赞美不休

"Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be."
My song is Love Unknown,
My life is Christ enthroned!

Above the canopy of stars surely a loving Father dwells

Two nights ago, I saw a whole sky full of stars. That's something I've never seen in Singapore. I believe Beethoven had seen it too.

Do you sense the Creator, world?
See Him above the canopy of stars!
Brothers! Brothers!
Above the canopy of stars surely a loving Father dwells.

-- Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D-Minor, Opus 125, "Choral"

I was reminded that it took a miracle from none other than the loving Heavenly Father, the Great Conductor of the celestial chimes, to put the stars in place.

He gave us direction and written a part for us to play. He gave us a reason to make music in the grand symphony of life that he has orchestrated. Let the Lord make beautiful music in and through our lives. =)

Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD. (Psalms 4:5)

Close Call

It’s kinda nice staying near church. As one of the Queens townfolk used to say, if the church needs extra hands, you’re just a few minutes away. Well, it was weird to be sitting in front of the terminal at home on a Wednesday night, though I was really looking forward to a quiet evening of work and a Sunday service where I could participate in corporate worship without a care.

Recently, I found singing in the worship ministry a tremendous means of grace, through which God draws me nearer to Him, shows and reminds me who He is, comforts and strengthens me. I have a persistent Martha problem, I think most of you already know – my hands are so busy, my mind is preoccupied and my heart prone to wander. Imagine my delight when I realized that the quietest moments of last week came during the weekend through serving in song, both in Shao Tuan and Hua2. So I didn’t hesitate when the ‘call of duty’ came last night.

Yes, I said DUTY.

Duty, not in the “I don’t want to, but if I must, I will do it” attitude but more like answering the compelling call within, to fulfill the purpose for which you were made. Both are obligations in some way, but their effects are profoundly different. Taken in the first sense, there is an element of dread and grudge because you are bound by only by commitment, in turn only our promises are honoured. Taken in the second sense, there is JOY in duty – when God’s will is revealed to you, when the Spirit moves you to respond to this revelation in appropriate ways!

Wait, what ‘revelation’???

No, I’m not talking abstract here, but I’m also taking this in two senses.

God’s will is revealed to us in Scripture – what pleases God, what He is concerned about, what He wants His children to be, His desires…These we can know, by His grace, through God-given wisdom. And if we are truly passionate about God and His glory, I pray that we will be ignited and inspired within to answer these calls.

The other kind of ‘revelation’ is more specific and it differs from person to person. For me, I know that I’ll be in the worship ministry for a long time. This is the area of service I’ve been called to take up many years back. It was a strong, resounding call and I know deep within that this is where God has put me in His family. It’s my duty lovingly assigned by Him, to work, to play and to serve right here.

Knowledge always has its implications and this is probably why I answered ‘the call’ last night. I wasn’t going beyond the call of duty. I was merely fulfilling it, with joy.

If I may borrow the words from When I Look Into Your Holiness:
When we find the joy of reaching His heart, when our wills become enthralled in His love, our only appropriate response is WORSHIP.

"你爱我比更深吗?"

This post came pretty late but I just wanted to point out something.

When we look at John 21:15-17, it seems as if Jesus and Peter have been repeating the same phrases three times.

Three times the same question was asked. But for the first two times Jesus asked if Peter love(agape) Him and Peter answered, that he love(philia) Him. On the third time, Jesus asked if Peter love(philia) Him and that was when Peter grieved, as Jesus revealed to him that he was, perhaps, reluctant to make a claim of supreme devotion to God because in the past, his life did not support such a claim.

Agape meant total devotion, to hold high regard of, to be contented at or with a thing.
Philia meant brotherly love, friendship and affection.

(I may not grasp the complete meaning for these two words but philia is nothing like agape.)

As we search our hearts for answers, it is my hope that you will bring this knowledge with you, as you consider your area of service next year.

On Desires

O THOU THAT HEAREST PRAYER,
Teach me to pray.

I confess that in religious excercises
___the language of my lips and the feelings of my heart have not always agreed,
___that I have frequently taken carelessly upon my tongue
______a name never pronounced above without reverence and humility,
___that I have often desired things which would have injured me,
___that I have depreciated some of my chief mercies,
___that I have erred both on the side of my hopes and also of my fears,
___that I am unfit to choose for myself,

______for it is not in me to direct my steps.

Let thy Spirit help my infirmities,
___for I know not what to pray for as I ought.
Let him produce in me wise desires by which I may ask the right things,
___then I shall know thou hearest me.

May I never be importunate for temporal blessings,
___but always refer them to thy fatherly goodness,
___for thou knowest what I need before I ask;
May I never think I prosper unless my soul propers,
______or that I am rich unless rich towards thee,
______or that I am wise unless wise unto salvation.

May I seek first thy kingdom and its righteousness.
May I value things in relation to eternity.
May my spiritual welfare be my chief solicitude.
May I be poor, afflicted, despised and have thy blessing,
___rather than be successful in enterprise,
______or have more than my heart can wish,
___or be admired by my fellow-men,
______if thereby these things make me forget thee.
May I regard the world as dreams, lies, vanities, vexation of spirit,
______and desire to depart from it.
And may I seek my happiness in thy favour, image, presence, service.

__

a leaf from

The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions

A savour of death unto death itself, and life unto life to others.

Excellent video, Beat. And yes, Sermon Index is truly a wonderful resource.

My short response:

"The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first. That is how revival comes. That must also be true of us as individuals. It should not be our ambition to be as much like everybody else as we can, though we happen to be Christian, but rather to be as different from everybody who is not a Christian as we can possibly be. Our ambition should be to be like Christ, the more like Him the better, and the more like Him we become, the more we shall be unlike everybody who is not a Christian."

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Introduction to the Beatitudes

In preparation for this week's anthem, I think this will shed some light for our reflection.

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/myvideo/photo.php?lid=1412

"The denial of self in any form is suffering". -Katz

Do we allow ourselves too many comforts?


This is an awesome site by the way. They actuallly have audio sermons by Tozer! @_@
And some more amazing videos and sermons...

No fear.

Children are really the most innocent.

As I was teaching my 6 year old niece and 8 year old nephew, their conversation left a deep impression on me.

B: Mei, are you very honest? (while doing his maths homework)
G: What does honest mean? (colouring her rabbits)
B: Honest means like you like to tell the truth la…
G: (Silence and still colouring attentively)
B: Why are you so honest ah… Why you so honest…
G: I don’t know… (still colouring her rabbits)
M: So, are you honest?
B: No, I am not. I always lie.
M: (Silence)
B: Ya, I always tell lies so I’m not honest. (doing his work)
M: Then why do you always tell lies?
B: Because I fear punishment.
M: (Silence)

His response stunned me.
I knew I couldn’t reply then, taken aback at the innocent forthrightness.

Fear is a human condition.

Punishment is a human response to the human condition of fear. Punishment can only give birth to fear.

Fear eats away our ability to Love, to Embrace, to Encourage.

Our world is crazy-filled with fear of all sorts and sizes. The concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, basically hinges on the opponent’s fear. See what it spells?

Yep, MAD.

That is how perverse our minds can get when we grow up under the atmosphere of fear; when fear surpasses love, we are under pressure to stick to the rules or be ready to receive punishment. So, when fear loses its grip, hell breaks loose. This is when we do not fear the punishment anymore.

We see it in anarchy, where there is no government rule; no laws to control, people just do whatever they want because their actions are unpunished.

So, can you imagine living under a fear of something tangible or intangible, every minute of your life?

If you list down all your fears and compare it, we are all the same actually.

Death
Failure
Acceptance
Rejection
Forgiveness
Loss
Judgment
Life, after death.

“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. “ -1John 4: 16-19(ESV)

How revolutionary this message is to our fear-filled world!

Thanks and glory be to God, our dear Father, thanks be to Jesus Christ, our messiah and embodiment of love, our atonement. Thus we no longer live under the rule of fear if we abide in God. What else do you fear that Christ has not bore for you?

Love for Him ought to motivate our every breathing, every living, and every dying.

So, no(t) fear.

Ah, I love those little children.