It's a New Season... of Hope & Love

Firstly, I'd like to wish all my readers a Happy New Year! May your new year be filled with hope, joy, peace and love abundantly through the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It's a new season. Time to let the past be the past. Time to expect a new season of blessing.

If 2006 has not been a good year, expect God to turn your problems around. If you've been waiting for a new season, the time is now. Don't hold back, don't look back.

Don't look back.

It felt just like yesterday when I heard the new year message in City Harvest Church early 2006. Ps Kong Hee was speaking about not looking back. It was around that period which I started writing my first blog I think. You can find my older entries at my old blog by clicking on the link to the right sidebar. It was after I heard the message, when I named my blog, 'Not looking back...'.

As I reflect upon the previous year, I'm beginning to remember all that has happened. New relationships, new church, new friends, new business - so many changes in such a short time. Some bad, some good. God led me to a church so filled with life where my new journey started - there are so many people I've met who've impacted my life in such a meaningful way; I would never have known them if it wasn't for taking that new step. The church I attended in 2006 in Melbourne was easily the most vibrant and loving church in that city - I remember the cheerful, warm and loving faces of the people as I seeked God's love, as I seeked to find a new place I could call home, just for that little short time I had left in Melbourne. At that time, my life was in partial turmoil - I was getting out of a wrong relationship, most of my close friends have left the country, a church which I once called home abandoned me, my spiritual life was faltering; I heard my heart cry, "Were there still people out there who could receive and love me for who I am? Who would love and accept me despite my flaws?"

I remember so clearly the first time I stepped into Carlton Lifegroup at Leicester Street, Melbourne. I saw something different.
I felt the love of God eminating from the people around me. A feeling that was so profound that I'm sure no one could deny it. And I could hear my heart whsiper to me, "Here is a place I could call home". And I made it my home. For the whole year.

You see, sometimes we have to take that step forward. And we can't afford to look back. If I had never taken that new step, I would have missed all the good things and blessings God had in store for me that year. Who knows what else I would have missed?

Don't let fear and the past hold you back. If you're expecting something from God this year, know that this will be THE year. Never give up hope.

Romans 4:18-25 (Amplified Bible) gives an example of God pulling through for someone when it whose situation was utterly hopeless:

[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.(E)

He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb.(F)

No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,

Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

But [the words], It was credited to him, were written not for his sake alone,

But [they were written] for our sakes too. [Righteousness, standing acceptable to God] will be granted and credited to us also who believe in (trust in, adhere to, and rely on) God, Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification (our [e]acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God].

If you have a promise from God, this scripture is encouragement that there is hope out there. And Jesus bought that hope for us by His blood. You don't have to be christian to receive this. This promise is for everyone. All you need to do is to believe in Jesus - that He died on the cross for our sins. Know that someone out there, loves you. And that someone is Jesus. That someone is God. It's not a religion. It's not about going to church or doing 101 things to be a good person. It's a relationship of love.

For God so loved the world, the he gave his one and only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

(John 3:16-17 NIV)

Odd. I initially wanted to blog about something else today. Perhaps I've been led to share this for a reason. If what I've shared spoke to your heart, then know that Jesus loves you that much to have me blog about this instead, just for you. What better way to start your new year than to have a relationship of love with Jesus?

--->For those who are in Melbourne and would like to know which church I'm talking about - it's Richmond Assembly of God

Long absence

I have wanted to update this blog for a long time.

You see, when I established this blog, I didn't just want it to be a story about me. I wanted it to be a story about someone bigger, someone better, someone who was perfect. I wanted this blog to be an encouragement to people who read it; to stimulate their thoughts abit; to share my insights and revelations of what I was learning in my life; to let people know that there was hope out there. I wanted it to be a testimony of my life with Jesus.

Over the past few months, so much has happened, and I felt no encouragement to write at all. I had many ideas floating around my head, but for some reason I didn't manage to put it in writing.

A friend once asked me, "Why haven't you updated your blog for so long?".

I replied "Hmm... I only want to write intellectually stimulating stuff on my blog, not the usual day to day ramblings. I put quite a bit of thought before each post, so it takes some time. Else I won't write anything."

I'm somehow surprised with my own response. Perhaps I'm contradicting myself now. Cause I really don't have much to write about this time round.

I've been down in the dumps for a while now. It was like my whole life came to a complete halt; nothing else mattered. How can I encourage people now? At times, I felt that I myself need the encouragement. I felt like the Psalmist in Psalms 88:

O Lord, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.

For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.

I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care. (v.1-5)

I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you. (v.8-9)

But I cry to you for help, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me? (v.13-14)

I used to wonder why some Psalms were quite depressing. They seemed somewhat negative as well. But they are in the Bible, that is for sure. Why are they there? Has anyone given thought about it? Maybe it was there cause there were times where God's people went through extreme difficulties as well. They suffered, and felt that God was far, especially when terror struck. Maybe they even fell to depression, I don't know.

Here is what I think. It was put there, just cause God knew I would need to read those scriptures at a certain point in my life. He knew that when I was depressed and wasn't in my 100% faith speaking mountain moving mode, I would still find encouragement knowing godly people have gone through bad times before. He knew, that I would read these scriptures, and know that God is able to relate to my feelings, right there, right then, right now.

You know what? I'm encouraged knowing that the Bible actually spoke of how I was feeling. It was like....I felt that God was still able to relate with me.... to cry with me, to embrace me; even when I wasn't full of faith. You see friends, it is His faithfulness that pulls us through anyway. It's all about Jesus and His finished work.... His faithfulness.

The living, the living - they praise you,
as I am doing today;
fathers tell their children
about your faithfulness

(Isaiah 38:19 NIV)

I guess God has encouraged me again. Hope this does the trick for those out there who feels that God can't relate and is far away. He can relate after all.

Defeating sin by grace, not by doing...

A theologian once said

"Feeling guilty is the greatest form of self-righteousness".

Think about that statement for a bit. Let it sink in.

*This is the part where you reflect on the last statement for at least a short while.*

With the last thought still in your mind, here are some questions for you:

How many of you have tried to stop sinning, but seem to fail everytime?

Or how many of you implemented a couple of ways to stop sinning, which worked for a while, only to fall again and beat yourself over it?

How many of you feel guilty for falling into the same temptations and sins all over again?

I raise my hands for every question asked.

---

Everyone sins. Thats why everyone needs grace. We don't need people telling us we have sinned or done wrong, because the Holy Spirit convicts us. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and saviour, you no longer need to know when you have done wrong. You just know.

I once heard a respectable christian leader say to me, "I think pastor _______ preaches too much grace."

I was taken aback. Something inside me told me that it wasn't right. It was by grace that we were saved. It was by grace that we can call God our Daddy. It was by grace that we receive all the blessings in our life. And just recently, I learned that it was by grace that I can defeat sinning.

I tried everything I could to best stop myself from falling into sin over and over again. I tried sticking up scriptures around to remind me. I treid memorised scriptures. I tried reading the Bible when tempted. I tried to avoid situations that would tempt me to sin. I tried, and I tried. And I kept failing, and kept feeling guilty and condemned. And then I realised why the battle never seemed to end. It was because I kept trying.

Romans 8:2

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

I finally got it. After hearing about God's grace so many times, the truth finally sank in. The more I tried, the worse it got. Trying to defeat sin by works is like trying to fulfil God's law! If it were possible in the first place to 'stop sinning', Jesus wouldn't have to come at all! It was because God KNEW that we wouldn't be able to fulfil the law that Christ came! None of us deserved it! Thats grace!

As I came to know more and more about God's grace for me, the less powerful the temptation of sin was to me. I began to stop noticing sin, and stopped focusing on it. The less I tried to 'stop sinning', the more I suceeded in defeating sin. It's like sin's grip on me has suddenly weakened as this revelation dawned upon me. The more I realised this truth, the less guilty I felt. After all, feeling guilty from falling into sin is pretty much saying Jesus' work was useless.

Let us not mock the work of the cross by feeling guilty and beating ourselves over it. After all, Romans 8:1 says

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...

For those of you who are going through the same situation as I am, I hope this message encourages you. God bless.

The image of the Lion (Part 2)

Alright, let me first clear some things about myself.

(1) I am not a chauvinist
(2) I do not advocate violence, or the use thereof
(3) I don't think men are in a higher/better position than women
(4) I personally have nothing against nice guys

Sorry if the previous post gave you the impression that I am some extreme guy who's prone to violence. I'm not. In actual fact, if you know me long enough, you'll realise that I was once a 'Nice Guy' (might still be referred to one for all I know).

Actually, my last post was only part of the image of Jesus. In actual fact, according to the Bible, Jesus was also gentle, kind, loving, compassionate, patient and understanding. He was the only man on earth who was perfectly balanced. Notice that he was sarcastic and rude to the proud religious leaders, but he gave grace to the humble and needy. He overturned the tables in the temple in anger, yet when he saw thousands of people following him, he was moved by compassion and fed them all.

You see, Jesus was both strong and full of grace. He knew when to stand up and fight, and he knew when to back down.

Wait a sec. Come to think of it, I don't think Jesus ever backed down. Not even when he was captured, tortured, and crucified. It took real strength to go through all He did - cause He knew that was the only way for our total forgiveness of sins. Before all of that, Jesus prayed

"Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." (Luke 22:42 NKJV)

He fought all the way. He never gave up.

Remember the scene from the movie The Passion, where Jesus was carrying the cross up the hill? Think about it - he had the strength to carry it AFTER being whipped for our sins. Seeing the whole image?

But why was He strong in the first place? What gave Him that strength to go all the way?

His grace. His love for us. It was because of His grace that He was strong. Yeah, thats right. He did it all for you and for me.

Man... I want to be like Jesus.

The image of the Lion

Wild at Heart was an eye opener for me. Well, for one thing, it made me realise that being a Christian is not about hiding at the back, avoiding confrontations and letting people trample all over you. At the time of reading the book, it was a revelation to me. I came to realise that Jesus wasn't this emasculated, weak, frail, helpless, skinny man who looked severely malnourished (as depicted in most pictures I used to see of Jesus in church). He was the total opposite. He was the lion of Judah.

Wait a sec. This doesn't really add up. The image of a lion doesn't seem to tally with the image of Jesus in the potraits. Not only that, we are called to become LIKE Jesus. The question is, WHICH IMAGE?

The author of 'No More Christian Nice Guy'(pg34) paints an interesting image of Christ...

"Regardless of how hard we try, Jesus will not be domesticated. Consult the gospel facts: He is no comfortable Christ, no meek and mild Messiah.

Let's set the record straight.

Here is our popular Nice Guy misconception: Jesus didn't drink, swear, get angry, use sarcasm, confront, avoid questions, grow impatient, or complain. Conversely, the record shows he did all of the above, and the gospel includes no apology, confession, or repentance for any of them."

Now wasn't that unconventional? I say that's something to think about. Especially when we are called to be like Christ. No, no, no... the Bible didn't tell us to be like Christ in some things. It said be like Christ in everything.

"God wants us to grow up... like Christ in everything." (Ephesians 4:15(MSG))

If you thought that Jesus was just a typical 'nice guy', think again. He was good alright, but he wasn't 'nice' all the time.

What is your image of Jesus?