Promises, Promises, Promises

 For the first time in my 52 years as a Malaysian, I attended a political ceramah. Ok, ok, I did say I wouldn't in my last blog posting, as honestly I don't fancy all the (usually bad-mouthing) rhetoric that all political candidates are apt to make come election time. But this one was very conveniently taking place just behind my house. Hey, no need to drive out, battle the traffic on the road and go around in circles looking for a parking spot - that's a huge plus. Man, I could even have a home-cooked meal and take a slow stroll 3 mins. before the appointed time. So I went. The air was cool after the heavy storm earlier. The field was all wet, but that didn't stop the people from standing/sitting wherever they could (some even brought their own chairs or stools) to listen to speaker after speaker talk about this, that or the other thing under the M'sian sky. After 2 hours I had enough. Did it change my mind about whom to vote for? Nah. Did it tell me anything new or important that I didn't already know? Nah. Did it make lots of promises? Ya. But I guess this is the season for making promises left, right and center. That's all we hear about, read about, am told about everywhere anywhere. I get bombarded with manifestos, pamphlets, and banners proclaiming the virtues of marking my X against a certain symbol or other. If they (and by they I mean all) candidates could, we would be promised the sun, moon and stars on a gold/silver (take your pick ) platter. I don't  mean to be cynical, indeed its their 'job' to make promises, all aspiring leaders must have a vision after all, and vision means holding out certain promises.


Indeed making promises isn't confined to politicians. A man and a woman exchange rings in holy matrimony as they promise to have and to hold each other for better or for worse till death do they part. A parent promises his child $100 for each A scored in his exams. My not-so-young kid promises to clean up her room....soon. Bosses hold out the promise of better bonuses when the business booms. The drug addict in rehab promises to turn over a new leaf. Man make all kinds of promises to themselves and to each other. Sadly some of these promises never do come true. I have learnt not to get too excited about man's promises, since many times promises remain just that - good intentions. What guarantee backs up a promise? If a man can't even be sure whether this is gonna be his last day on earth, on what basis can I believe him that he will fulfil his word given? That's the frailty of human life and human promises.

But God's promises are another thing altogether. Mind you, His promises are so much more grandiose and glorious by far than what any human can ever come up with. He doesn't just talk about tents, cattle, sheep, wine and oil - the nitty-gritty of ordinary life. He talks about heart-stirring stuff like the real meaning of life and freedom, eternity, forgiveness of sin, abundance and potential to be all that He has perfectly designed each one of us to be. God's promises about truth, peace, justice, equality and righteousness beats any and every political manifesto. According to various sources, there are at least 3000 promises in the Bible, some go up as high as 5-7000. I dunno, I never bothered to count them, as I have difficulty keeping track of them all scattered over 66 books, about 1000 chapters and some 31,000 verses.

Yet if I can be so 'realistic' about distrusting man's comparatively much fewer and so much less fantastic promises, why should I or anyone for that matter believe any of God's promises in the first place? What guarantee does God provide to back Himself up?? Is God just another 'politician' offering free sweet-mouthing ear-pleasing platitudes of a so-called better life, if I 'vote' for Him? Heaven forbid that the Almighty God, Creator, Sustainer and Preserver of all life should be reduced to nothing more than a divine 'fisherman' dangling all sorts of 'bait', desperate to 'hook' us into His 'net'. Actually God doesn't need us, quite the opposite, it's man who needs his Creator, even for every breath we so unconsciously draw. And God doesn't need to promise us anything. He's not 'in it' for the power, prestige or pomp. He is already AWESOME. But He does anyway and this is what boggles me - He does it simply becoz He loves. No other motivation. His promises remain whether we believe Him or not, whether we want them or not. And the best part is His promises are all true, they all come to pass, in His perfect timing and according to His perfect ways. What He says He will do, He will do.

Legally, the mostest that man can do to guarantee a promise is to put it down in writing, sign, stamp and seal it. God went far beyond that. He gave us a Guarantor who literally sealed all His promises with His own blood. When Jesus Christ died bleeding on the cross, God was saying 'Here is security you can trust.' When Jesus rose alive from the dead 3 days later, God was saying, 'There you are, here is proof that you can see...I am what I AM.' What else will convince us that God is not a liar if not this by this 1 act of Jesus' supreme sacrificial love in dying to take upon Himself the judgement that's rightfully meant for us sinners? And by the very blood that flowed out of His own body, signed sealed and delivered God's guarantee that His "promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off" (Acts 2:39). There it is; it doesn't matter that I wasn't born 2013 years ago to see, hear and witness Jesus Christ alive, dead and resurrected. God's promises are granted to those who choose to believe by faith in Jesus Christ, the divine Guarantor, who had already done all that is necessary to secure and realize every single one of them. The last words of a 110 year old warrior who led a whole nation into God's Promised Land is recorded in Joshua 23:14 - " Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed." The last words of Jesus Christ as He hung dying on the cross, "It is finished." - Fait accompli - a done deal. 

I will not live to be 110. But I know for a fact, when I die, I will be able to declare the same thing. Even the best of human politicians and human promises come and go. But God is forever and His promises stand for eternity. Sure, I will cast my vote, but I'd rather put my trust in a fantastic faithful God than in fickle frail man.

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God" - 2 Corinthians 1:20

The Odd Couple

What an odd couple they made, sitting side by side. One skinny and dark, the other slit-eyed and brown-hued. The latter had begun appearing regularly at the street feeding some weeks back and I had assumed - wrongly - that she was of foreign descent. Sometimes it's hard to identify the people who come, especially since I have seen all kinds already. I am quite hopeless at guessing too. There have been occasions when I rattle along in half broken Cantonese to someone whom I surmise is Chinese and after a while he answers me in Bahasa. Conversely I can carry on in Bahasa to a guy who will smile and answer me in Mandarin. I have learnt to shrug these embarrassing mistakes off becoz they are ever so amused at this old aunty trying to engage them in conversation using 'strange tongues'.

As it turned out, this particular woman wasn't from overseas but a true M'sian hailing from Banting. She had smiled at me as I walked in slightly early. I had taken that as an invit to sit and chat. She had an obvious skin disease; there were scabs over and dried skin peeling off from her exposed arms. I knew the 3 white longitudinal scars across her wrist pointed to suicide attempts. Apparently she wasn't a 'newbie'; as is often the norm with these people, she had 'disappeared' for a while and now re-surfaced at the street feeding again. If there's anything distinctive about this work, it's the 'reliability' these people can hold on to, that no matter how far they wander off, no matter how long they drop out of the scene, they can always return - and find a chair to sit on, a plate of curry rice to fill the stomach, a familiar song to hum along with and a message of hope to lift up a crest-fallen spirit.

I had to leave off chatting with her to do my 'duty' that day, sharing God's word. By the time they were serving lunch, I saw a familiar face seated beside her. I had bumped into this other woman last Sat on the way to the car park and seeing her condition had urged her to come back to the feeding station. She was in bad shape, literally a bag of bones. Her eyes were yellow. Twice before she had consented to be admitted into drug-rehab. Twice a brother had made appointments with her to take her to the hospital for a prelim check-up. Twice she had stood him up, and gone back to the only business she knew - selling her body for peanuts, or rather for drugs. Here she was again, back at what is probably the only place she feels comfortable in. I could only sigh as I saw the shame in her eyes.

So there they were, sitting side by side. Silently I prayed for the right words to say what I knew had to be said. It's the same story, repeated time and again in the lives of those who are unable to break out of their old ways, even though they have the desire to change, even though they know there is a God who is able to help them change. Some people seem to think it's God's job to 'straighten' the messes we make in our lives. Certainly He can and He will, but He expects us to do our part as well. Receiving and calling upon the name of Jesus doesn't mean we are instantaneously given a halo around our heads and angel wings to fly. It just means we are forgiven sinners, saved from the wrath of God because Jesus took the full brunt of it at the cross. It means we are given a chance to start all over on a clean slate, by walking through the door that Jesus has opened up for us. The problem is some of us are still stuck with our feet glued to the same spot in life. Even though we confess we want, yet we refuse or at most make half-hearted attempts to walk into the new life that God has promised and laid before us.So in our weakness, we slip and slide back into the old hole.

I asked my new fren why why she wanted to commit suicide. She laughed, shrugged her shoulders and muttered something about a boyfren from a long time ago. Tears sprung up in her eyes as she recounted how the lady who had adopted her (she never knew who her real parents were) chased her out because she was 'bad'. She had ended up at the street feeding station and met an American lady who restored some decency into her life, by praying for her, crying over her and sheltering her for awhile. But she had wandered off again. And now the American 'angel' had flown away and was no longer in M'sia; she hoped for her return. I told her there was no need to wait for anyone, for no human could save another human being. There is only so much that a fellow human can do to help another. Only Jesus could save completely. She nodded her head; she said the lady had taught her that too.

Letting that sink in, I turned to my old fren and asked why she didn't keep the appointments with the brother. She said she wanted to be absolutely sure she could 'tahan' before she goes into rehab; she didn't want to 'fail' half-way through. I understood her fear, but I also know many times we make fear an excuse for reluctance to commit ourselves, perhaps because deep inside we actually don't wanna make the effort to change ourselves and/or are unwilling for whatever reason to let God change us. It's like people who want to be sure 100% that God exists before they will believe. The only 100% sure thing on this side of earth that I know is the certainty of death. So I told my old fren she could drop dead whilst waiting to be 100% sure, that she didn't have the luxury of 'testing' the water, dangling her toes half-in, half-out, like a child checking to ensure the temperature is 'just right' before jumping into the bath-tub to be cleansed. I asked her if she believed Jesus loved her. She nodded, and I said, if that's enough for God to work on, it should be enough for her to step firmly through the door that Jesus is holding open for her.

My 2 frens aren't alone in their inability (intentional or unintentional) to move on. All of us have past baggage to contend with, and despite the desire to dump it, despite knowing it does us no good, unfortunately many still go around lugging it. We pretend, we deny, we make excuses, we even blame God after we run out of people to blame; because we don't wanna accept that it's the face in the mirror staring back at us that's to blame. Facing God means we have to face ourselves first. Ultimately the issue isn't really about our inability; it's simply whether we dare choose, dare believe and dare trust a God who says He can and He will...do the impossible in our lives.  As many are those who don't choose, there are also many who have chosen.  I, for one, may not have the giant faith of Abraham or Paul, but with the (little) measure of faith that God gave me, I do wilfully choose, believe and trust  that as I step forth into a new day everyday,  Jesus walks with me and holds my hand. And that's why I dare say He (not 'it') works perfectly - to change me. But the first step is still and always will be mine to take.

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory..." - 2 Corinthians 3:18
 

Hotline to Heaven

Last week there were still some empty seats in the sanctuary; this week, every seat was taken. It wasn't a hot worship concert with Grammy Award winners from overseas, it wasn't a power-conference with internationally acclaimed 'men of God' come to deliver prophetic insights and impart deep teachings. It was very simply a...prayer meeting. Only special in the sense that there were gathered people from different Christian denominations under 1 roof. When Pastor asked how many churches were present, the answer was roared back  - 1. Only 1 church of Jesus Christ was present that nite and will be present for the next few weekly nites right up to voting day on 5th May 2013, when M'sians choose the people who will govern their nation for the next 5 years ahead. These combined church prayer sessions had been going on as far back as Dec 2012, starting then on a monthly basis till April 2013 when the election date was finally announced. As much as the political tempo has stepped up, so has the praying tempo been correspondingly stepped up to feverish pitch. As the bantering and posturing of politicians grow ever louder, so do the prayers of God's saints rise up all the more to heaven's holy altar.

And it's not special to this or any one particular church. Everywhere all over M'sia from  north to  south, from east to west, Christians are praying like never before - at least I haven't seen anything like this. Whether in individual churches or combined churches, many many many voices are being raised up to our heavenly Abba Father   in 1 accord, in 1 heart, in 1 spirit. Not just weekly, but daily. Some are holding 24 hr prayer, some are gathering at 12 am, 5 am, whatever am/pm to pray, some are prayer-walking all over their neighborhood. Different preachers, different pastors, yet the same messages are coming in thick and fast - all in sync with each other somehow. They didn't sit down at a pow-wow seminar to compare and prepare notes. The only pow-wow happening was when people prayed. Yep, there's something stirring in the M'sian church - fresh fire exploding,  fresh wind blowing, fresh rain falling. And without a doubt,  it began and is being sustained all by prayer - the heartfelt expression of a united people crying out to God to come and bless this nation that we all love. Already there are testimonies of how the miraculous hand of God is moving over the land.

Dr A. T. Pierson once said, 'There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.' In 1857, in response to an invitation by 1 man (Jeremiah Lanphier) to pray, 5 others out of the city population of 1 million responded. The result was a revival that spread out over America and jumped over the Atlantic into Scotland, Wales, England, South Africa and South India. There have been other revivals since then. But consistently without any exception, every revival began when people prayed. There's an old song which goes "For every time I pray, I move the hand of God. My prayer does the things my hands cannot do" (for updated local version, click here)

Say what you will, that it's all 'in the mind', mass hysteria, PMA (positive mental attitude) or whatever  experts in psychology wanna call it. We, who believe and pray, know better. Not becoz we are smarter or 'gooder' than those who don't. Christians are no better than  non-Christians, with only 1 difference - we are sinners saved by grace, believing and trusting in a God who is all grace, mercy, love and compassion, a God who hears and answers prayer.  I don't know how He does it, when there are probably billions of prayers being prayed all the time to Him, but that doesn't bother me. Just like I am not bothered to know how my car runs, I only know that it runs when I turn the key and step on the gas. After all He's God, He must have hosts of angels to man His 'hotline'. I don't know when or exactly how He will answer my prayers, but that doesn't bother me either, coz I know whenever/however His answer comes, it will always work out alright somehow (even when it seems all wrong), because He promised "that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28)

Someone challenged me, why then even bother to pray, when your God is just gonna do what He's gonna do anyway? Does God even 'need' us to pray, if He's so great and all? Valid questions.  I can only say this for myself - God doesn't 'need' my prayer, I pray because I need it. Prayer has become the air that I breathe. I cannot not pray. Someone once said "Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help." I am sad for this guy, whoever he is, since he obviously doesn't know or maybe he's had a very bad experience with/about God, for surely it takes strength to realize and admit how weak one really is. Anyway, he's probably right, I dunno because I am not into religion.

I am into a relationship with the Lover and Beloved of my soul. Incidentally, God doesn't need my adoration or praise either, (He's not some narcissistic Being hard-up for flattery) but I adore and praise Him anyway, because I love Him, because He loved me first. It's that simple. Isn't that how it's supposed to be in human relationships - that a couple in love simply adore one another, and give each other the best of each other within the norm of marriage?? So what's wrong with adoring the Creator who loves me more than any human possibly can?? God has given me the best of Himself in Christ Jesus; He died for me, and rose again alive to set me absolutely and totally free. Why/how can I give Him anything less than the best of me? I can't touch God like I can touch my loved ones on earth. But I can pray, and pray, and pray.

My praying used to be about 'getting' things from God, but now it's grown much beyond just that. In seeking things from Him, I have found actually the greatest joy is not in getting the 'things' that I seek but in getting Him, coz He's the only 'thing' that satisfies the deepest longing  of my soul, which I have no words to even put into. Prayer is my wonderful privilege. It doesn't take away the storms in my life; it simply takes me through all the storms in 1 'peace' (pun intended). My prayer doesn't change God; it changes me; to look at all things in life on earth from the higher viewpoint of heaven. Prayer puts me in the right perspective; that I have nothing to boast about really except the one thing that matters - that by the grace of God, He saved me to know Him, and that's the greatest most joyous blessing of all.

"Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent"- John 17:3

Heaven isn't freaking out

Heaven isn't freaking out, so says Israel Houghton. Who? Israel Houghton, 5 time Grammy Award winner , the latest picked up in 2013 with his hit "Jesus At the Center" (for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song). Up to yesterday I had absolutely no idea who he is. I was spending a quiet Saturday nite alone in the house, contemplating a very cold nasi lemak dinner (which the son didn't eat for breakfast). As usual.all the kids were anywhere but home. Out of the blue, a sister called me, asking if I was keen to do 'something crazy'- like attend a hot concert with Israel Houghton. The 'something crazy' part appealed to me; these days I am learning to do things I would not normally do. For the past few months, I have been getting impressions and messages left, right and center, about breaking out from the old into a new season of life. Seems God is speaking. Prayer and worship has taken on a new dimension, not just privately in my own time but even in our school devotions and prayer meets. There's a stirring in my heart that God's about to do something, and I know I don't want to miss out His next move, whether it's in my personal life, my job or my country. So I have been extra careful not to simply dismiss 'things' happening. Besides I have been sold out on worship concerts ever since I caught Sidney Mohede in concert last year. Before that I have always been a 'traditionalist' as far as worship music is concerned, preferring slow, nicely paced hymns over the more contemporary Christian rock music. But Sidney's vibrant Malay songs got me to appreciate 'loud' worship.

And Israel Houghton was loud alright. Very very loud in fact. The place was jam-packed with people, even tho the concert wasn't free. Mostly youngsters who obviously knew who he is. There were groups from as far as Thailand, Penang, Indonesia. This old aunty was an obvious 'katak di bawah tempurung'. What boggled me were the very arresting stage light displays. It must have cost a bundle to set it up. With all the loudness and the brightness, if you didn't listen to the lyrics, you would have thought it was a very hip disco joint. But it wasn't. It was a worship session that was  gloriously alive. I have to confess it took this staid old aunty awhile to 'get into groove'. But it's impossible not to catch the anointing when there was such loud praise going on....my feet got tapping, my hands were waving and as the music pounded , I lifted up voice and heart in total abandon to worship my Lord and my God.

I am glad, like all good worship leaders, Israel and his band New Breed didn't just 'perform' a great concert. The back-up was excellent, the musicians very very talented. But the heart of it all was his message calling out, especially to those who had gone 'off-track',  to 'get it right' with God. I was particularly impressed when he released what I can only surmise as a Word direct from God -  "The heart of the king is in the hands of the Lord." And then  he suddenly talked about his nation's  (US) past elections, where everybody was getting so passionate about politics they quite forgot about God. As he reminded the audience, whatever happens in any election, whether it's to our liking or not, God is in control. He put it very succintly, "Heaven isn't freaking out, so why are people freaking out?" And then he launched into a very apt song - Everything's Gonna Be Alright.

Indeed many are now expert arm-chair critics; the passion of politics is prevalent everywhere in mass and social media. But what saddens me is how divisive and divided M'sians have all become. A sister asked me pointedly in a moment of reflection, what's happened to the Christian commandment to "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" ?(Luke 4:27-28)  All I get in my email these days are stuff about how bad this/that fella is/was, how our nation has been ruined by certain persons.  You get the same stories being filmed, told and re gurgitated over Fb, twitter, U-tube, at ceramahs, in mainstream as well as online news sites. If you sift thru all the flak, there is so much vitroil, so  much hate being stirred up in a boiling cauldron of what is essentially emotional reactions and defenses. Since when has it ever been about pro/anti government? Isn't is supposed to be pro justice and anti corruption? A government is after all just an organization made up of human beings. Are we fighting against fellow fallible human beings or for eternal principles? Apostle Paul redefines what war means - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12) . Have we forgotten Vengeance is in the hands of a righteous God - He will repay, as He will not let the guilty go unpunished? Certainly we are to speak out, stand up and contend for what is righteous. But have we fallen so low that it becomes normal  to resort to 'gutter politics' and/or 'assassinate' people in the process?

I am reminded when I point a finger at someone, there are 3 fingers pointing back at me. The fact that someone may have sinned 'bigger time' than me doesn't make me any less a sinner than he. In God's eyes, we will both be judged the same, and punished the same too. That may not be 'fair', but that's justice, because there's only 1 standard God holds us all to - 100% -  and only 1 punishment for all sin - death. And I stand equally guilty as the next human being. As English preacher John Bradford put it , "There, but for the grace of God, go I". Thanks be to my God, my Savior, my Jesus, for His mercy in saving me. Again I am reminded Jesus didn't come to overthrow a corrupt, tyrannical and authoritarian government in His days. In fact that's what everyone expected and indeed wanted Him to do. I am sure He could easily have, since He had legions of angels under His command. Instead He declared, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" (Mark 12:17). Thousands of years ago, the prophet Daniel said, "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others" (Daniel 2:20-21). That same message was given by a Christian worshippper - Israel Houghton - in the 21st century, who came all the way from USA to M'sia to deliver it - God is still in control, no matter what.

Honestly I am getting tired of all the rhetoric about the 'mother of all elections'. It just hurts me to see M'sians attacking M'sians, getting all 'freaked out' over this, that or the other latest tingy. So I think for this round, I will just take a back-seat and skip the endless ceramahs (it was reported one party is dishing out 66,600 of them - hmmm, interesting, I wonder how they came up with that exact figure) until it's time to vote. Meanwhile better stay at home or go do "something crazy" ....like attend a hot worship concert....


"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Losing All to Win All

I read an article in a mainstream newspaper the other day regarding 6 rules of good business sense. (I normally only read such papers for their comics section. For 'real' news, I go on-line, of coz, ha ha). This feature by a lady entrepreneur was quite interesting. I am no business expert, but the runner-headlines of her article caught my eye. Although she was talking about building a business, 3 things were mentioned which struck me as particularly insightful, as being equally (if not even more) applicable to a 'successful' life.
Firstly she opined we should give up the need to be right. Ahh, that's a tough call indeed. The natural human response is to fight to the death for our 'rights'. We have everything from human rights, gay rights, minority rights, women's rights (hmmm, never hear much about men's rights though), civil rights, God-given rights. We defend our rights to freedom of the individual, we dispute over land rights, we even question people's rights to call God by a certain name. We lodge tons of police reports over alleged abuse of this or that right. Some of us even go to the extent of brandishing weapons or showing certain parts of the human anatomy in demonstrating for our rights. Yep, it's all about rights in this world. But  interestingly there was a guy who was so right, yet chose to keep silent when pushed into a corner. As He stood before the highest ruler of the land, accused of 'many things' by religious priests and elders, Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge (Mat 27:13-14). The King of kings and the Lord of lords was put on trial and preferred public disgrace instead of standing up for His rights. Was it cowardice? No way. A man who went on to endure crucifixion with such quiet dignity and inner strength is no coward.

Why on earth then did Jesus not speak up to defend Himself? Or at least get some hot-shot passionate lawyer to speak on His behalf? Isn't it illuminating that despite the absence of rebuttal, the judge found "no basis for a charge against Him"? (Luke 23:4). I guess God is telling us there is no need to  get hung up about being right, because what is right is always right. After all, whether or not we believe God  doesn't negate who He is since He is always right. I am reminded that in a human court of law, the one who makes an allegation bears the burden of proving it, whereas the accused can choose to remain silent. Therefore if anyone contends that there is no God, let him so prove it. It's not for  God to prove otherwise, for God doesn't need to prove Himself. Yet the beauty of it all is God did in fact condescend to do just that - by sending Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). And so it was that Jesus merely stood silent before His accusers; God had revealed Himself already, proof in the flesh.

If we can accept that Truth, then the second rule becomes easier to apply - that we really should stop trying to control everything. That's apt to be a nightmare for control freaks, like I used to be. I still have problems to this day of 'letting go and letting God be God. But I can honestly say I have learnt to relax my grip on my life, my kids, my concerns, my money...all the stuff that I call mine. Becoz the reality is I don't know whether I will get up alive from bed tomorrow morning. Heck, I can't even control my eye from blinking once every 5 seconds the way it's designed to (that by the way works out to 17,000 times daily and 6.25 million times in a year - mind boggling indeed) If I don't know how these basic things work, who am I to question how the Creator of heaven and earth runs the universe? As God reminded Job, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? ...have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place?..have the gates of death been shown to you? ..will the one who contends with Almighty God correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer Him!" (Job 38-40). Yet man continue to refuse to submit to God's sovereignity in misguided self-deception that we can do without God and be masters of our own destiny. How poor a destiny it would be, missing the real Master's touch who promised 'For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and never to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future' (Jeremiah 29:11). If only we would dare take God at His word and let Him take over the wheel of our life, we wouldn't be driving around in circles and kidding ourselves we are getting somewhere.

To make it big, the author says we should not confine ourselves to thinking small. Certainly that's what separates the mediocre from  the excellent. Still no matter how smart a human brain , it can't beat the One who created the brain. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (1 Corinthians 1:25). As is written, He is "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). The problem is not with God; the problem is man makes God too small. We write Him off as an inconsequential 'something out there' who can't/won't act the way we want Him to act (by the way, that's a job better suited for Santa Claus, not God) . So we carry on with our 'business as usual'. We think prayer is merely some psychological feel-good exercise, which makes absolutely no difference to what's gonna happen anyway. Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be. Since there's seemingly no point  bugging  God, there's correspondingly no need to bother about Him either.

Ahh, but if only we "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ", surely we would want "to know this love that surpasses all knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18-19). A love that knows no bounds. A divine love that hounds after the human heart. A love that wills the best for the creature beloved. At the cross Jesus held out His hands, inviting all to embrace His love. Love is the biggest 'business' of God, and His love never fails. All of life's 'business' involves risks after all. "The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow but he simply cannot learn and feel and grow and change and love and live" (Leo F.Buscaglia). Here's another good one - "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore" (Andre Gide). If we can take risks in business, how come we don't dare take a risk on God?

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" - 1 Corinthians 13:13

Missing the Mark

   I really should learn to 'listen, listen, listen' to my heart. I don't mean my heart heart, as in getting all emo over something. I mean, that inner 'voice' that tells me what I should know to do; even when logic dictates otherwise. Some people 'see' visions from God; I don't tho I have often prayed for that ability. Heck I can't even remember my dreams. But I do get 'impressions' which I know must have a divine source, simply becoz  I am sure I could never in my own mind think them up. So it was when I saw the man staring as we started off the street programme as usual with worship. In fact I had been conscious of his eyes following me even when I was moving around the crowd before we started. And I am very sure it's not because I was looking pretty.  His gaze was intense even as we moved into the sharing of the Word and I was walking up and down translating Pastor's message about the necessity to die to the old life before there can be any resurrection of a new changed life. It wasn't easy trying to simplify what's essentially a spiritual issue. To ask a man to die? Nobody wants to do that. I don't know if the message got thru, but as I ended with a prayer, I found the man still staring intently at me.

Have you ever found yourself knocking on the wrong door? I really can be quite 'blur' at times.  I normally wait awhile to let people eat a fair bit of the food that's dished out before I sit down to chat. I should have parked myself next to the man of course, (the cues were so obvious already) but I didn't. Instead I got distracted by a familiar face - I saw  'my' uncle with a full plate of rice left untouched. So I approached him and asked why he had no appetite, was he sick? He nodded, so I told him I would register him at the medical station. He was no.22 in queue. That meant a lot of chatting time; ok, this must be the one God wants me to speak to today. Uncle glumly said he wanted to die. I said that's good, since that's the message Pastor had just preached, but I added the proviso, it's only good if you know Jesus. He asked why. I said because Jesus resurrected. That got me into a mess. Trying to explain the meaning of Christ resurrection - of a man's claim to be God -  to a staunch non-believer  is....tough to say the least. Worse to follow, it lead onto him questioning the Trinity of God. I was in a bigger mess. Which human can adequately explain the Holy Trinity? Heck, I don't even 'get' it myself. So I freely admitted to uncle I don't have all the answers. I got as far as using the analogy of water remaining 1 compound of H2O despite its various forms of liquid, solid and gas. Then uncle was called off to see the doctor.

All this while the man who had been staring at me had moved to seat himself right behind us. He was eavesdropping on our conversation, hanging onto every word. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his obvious interest. And so finally with uncle trotting off to the doctor, I turned my attention on him. Before I could even start, he said Thank you. I pointed up to heaven; that's who we should thank, I smiled. And immediately it all fell into place. This was the door I should be knocking at. I could have kicked myself for missing it. How could I be so 'duh duh'?? As he unfolded his story, it was so obvious God had touched him. Even way before this Saturday. He told a rather strange tale of how about a week ago,  a 'mother' from church had chanced upon him sleeping on the side-walk, asked him to follow her into the shopping mall, bought him a new shirt and pants (which he proudly indicated he was wearing now, and yes, they were new) and given him $20. I was curious why he called her 'mother' and how he knew she was from a church. He said she was wearing the 'white long thingy' that church people wear ; I can only presume he meant a nun in her habit. Yet at the back of my mind, I was asking myself, hmmm, a 'real' nun walking around dirty sidewalks and going shopping?? Honestly, the last nuns I saw were in my old Convent School back in my secondary school days, when I was a very young teenager. Could this have been an angel in disguise?? Whether human or divine, she certainly was the angel God had sent to this man in his hour of need.

But pushing that aside, I told him I noticed he had been staring at me for so long, and asked what he wanted. He touched his heart; he didn't need to say anything else. For my part, I merely asked him whether he believed what I had been telling about Jesus to uncle . He answered I want to, but I am scared. I had to reassure him there are many like him who are scared but who have believed and taken that step of receiving Jesus Christ anyway, because ultimately it's between him and God, no one else. After he followed me in prayer, immediately he asked, How do I go to church? Amazing; one minute ago, he was a 'scaredy-cat', now even without my urging, he wants to go to church. Such is the genuine hunger of a man who willingly comes to God in repentance and faith. Finally I asked 'So, if you die today, where do you think you will go?" He looked a bit puzzled as if I was asking an unnecessary spurious question. Without hesitation he answered, "Heaven". And the clincher,  "How do you know that?" A wrinkle  appeared on his brow as he looked at me and said, "I will be resurrected, like Jesus." Bingo.

I am so blessed. I get it all wrong, and God makes it all right. I can miss the mark, but God never misses His.

"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love Him?" - James 2:5