Blackout

One night at approximately 11:35 PM, things run as usual in a hypothetical family: the 2 elder brothers are watching their laptops enjoying a certain anime, their younger sister already in pyjamas and all prepared to go to bed as she has school the next day, their father watching some random television program waiting for the midnight news and their mother ironing clothes. And then a massive power failure occurs: the sounds of laughter from the laptop, the noise from the television, the whirring of the fan, and everything else collapses abruptly- utter silence suddenly strikes the house. Simultaneously at that moment of time, the house experiences absolute darkness. The whole neighbourhood, for the matter. All sight and hearing stops. It almost tastes like death.

In fact, the blackout not only extinguishes all visible light, it halts practically all of the activities in the mentioned home: the TV's out, so are the plugged-in laptops, the iron, the A/Cs, the fans and fluorescent & night light bulbs, the pump in the aquarium, the fridge- everything. To top all of that, since midnight's just around the corner, the pitch-black surroundings gives all of them a taste of what it's like to be blind. Their sense of sight is taken away from them whether they're ready for it or not.

That's not all. As time progresses, the heat starts to take a toll on them, who've been enjoying years of the A/C and fans' taken for granted services. They are perspiring profusely for the first time in a decade. In such an undesired situation, they cannot do anything, since everything seemed to require electrical supply. Trying to sleep is a terrible torture, with sweat rolling down every part of their bodies. For you smart alecs out there, it so happened that the family did not have back-up generators. Under such a circumstance, one of them has to feel his way through to the cabinet which contained candles and a lighter, and when a single candle is lit, the whole house is illuminated to a great extent, exaggerated by the fact that it was pitch-black before.

In the aforementioned setting, the source of power was electricity. Similarly in most houses today, it is the same. Electricity runs everything; it enables most, if not all activities in the house to be carried out. Viewing our lives, God is that source of power. God enables everything in our lives to run- and run smoothly, be it our school, work, relationships or finance. Being the source, He gives us the energy, strength, power, skills and talents to do the things we do each day- for His glory. Yet, we do not always do things to glorify His name; most of the time in fact, we abuse what we have received for personal gains and pleasure. This of course grieves God. However, He who possesses the power to give, possesses the power to take away also; at any time at all, without warning, as He pleases. When that happens, it would be very much like experiencing a blackout, where everything stops abruptly. We lose our jobs, relations with others are severed, etc. and that might or might not taste like death. With our eyes veiled by darkness, we cannot see a thing, and fumble in the darkness. With no where else to turn to, we finally turn to Jesus, to God and cry out to Him. We finally pray after a decade of self-sufficiency. With a broken and repentant heart, we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our lives again, and let God take the wheel. We would be in the process of lighting up the candle. Then, Jesus would be like that freshly lit candle, illuminating our lives so brightly so that we might see again. This time however, we do not see the materials and objects of this world, but we view the eternal glory that He has promised to all who would love and obey His commands. We would no longer be caught up with the bustling and busy, yet meaningless activities of this world. We would do everything unto the glory of God. This would most definitely require a change of heart.

Remember, God is the source of our lives, of our very beings. Let us learn how to understand, appreciate and cherish that fact. Let us use our lives to glorify and please Him, because when we do so, we can be assured of no blackouts; only an everlasting light.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

~John 15:5 [NIV]

体贴

"多用一点心，多加一份慧心，多注意一下别人的感觉，多观察周遭人们的一切，在适当的时候，表达自己的关心、同情，这不仅仅是一种最高贵的品格，也是一份令人愉悦的体贴，一份令人难忘的温柔。体贴令人舒服。"

【摘自南洋商报，《百字专栏》- 陈强华】

For the benefit of the non-chinese speaking/reading readers, here's the (pretty literal, but I've tried my best) translation, in English:

"Use your heart a little more; add a little more wisdom; notice the feeling of others a little more; observe whatever is happening to people around you a little more; at the right time, express your concern and sympathy; these are not only deemed the most noble characters, but a type of care and concern that makes people joyous and delighted; an unforgettable gentleness. Showing consideration puts a person at ease."

[Excerpted from an article in the NanYang SiangPau newspaper]

Self

Have you ever pondered on what might virtually be the root cause of unhappiness in your life?

Many things contribute to unhappiness- financial issues, relational problems, quarrels, disappointing outcomes. One would have this feeling that is very hard to swallow when he is dissatisfied or sad. And that is rendered natural. But, digging deeper, what contributes to that sadness? What exactly, drains oneself of peace and harmony? Is it because of what happened? Or the implication of it?

You might not be getting my point, which I do not expect you to, as of now. Giving examples and analogies are still one of the best ways in breaking down and making clear of a subject to a targeted individual, which happens to be you, the reader. So let's view an example, shall we? 2 lovely 5-year-old girls are playing together with say, dolls. A particular doll catches both their eyes, and both want to have it. Being only children, they've probably never come across the words 'compromise' or 'negotiate' and none of them is willing to give it up. Then things start to get ugly. From pulling each other's hair to landing mighty punches, it seems the girls have transformed into monsters. Not-so-innocent feelings such as bitterness, anger and rage explode into the scene. My question: Why? One might answer, because they didn't get what they wanted. Being fussy here, I wouldn't settle with that slightly inaccurate answer. Yes, they didn't have their way, and they weren't happy. But having one's way means satisfying self. Me. "I want to play with the doll so that I can satisfy myself, so that I can have fun. The priority is me and since there's only one doll, I will have it first and I don't care about what you think or feel." Notice the number of 'I's, 'Me's and 'myself's, with only one 'you' word. The answer? Selfishness.

A great guitarist is encouraged by family and friends to join a talent-time competition. By all means, he stands every chance to make it to the top 3, with the ripping guitar skills that he has. Yet he's having doubts about it. He's worried if there are people out there who're better than he, though they are in fact way out of his league. He's fearful he would make a mistake while playing. Still, he wants to join the competition because he simply has the interest. This becomes a big problem to him- when there is none to begin with! He worries all night and is down because he cannot make up his mind. Why? Because if his 'worst nightmares' came true - If there are people better than him or he makes a mistake while playing - his reputation would be at stake. He would have destroyed his own image in front of the crowd if he lost the competition. He would have essentially hurt himself. Since that possibility exists, he'd rather not take it. I mean, one can never put oneself at risk can he? By oneself I do not exactly mean one's life, but his ego, pride, self-image, etc.

How do you think Satan became Satan? Already in a highly respectable position as archangel, he was not satisfied. He was so self-centered and so full of himself that there was no room for God inside him any longer. God, who created him, was insignificant compared to himself. Only by being God himself would Lucifer be slaked of his monstrous selfish desires. He felt that only then could his self be exalted to the highest degree possible. He was thrown down to Hades.

Last example. Guess who? Me. No it's not a joke. Me, the writer. What happened? Well, it is quite apparent that I have not typed in a long time, and I didn't type as smoothly as I used to. I was struggling for words and flow, and I was getting frustrated. And then I thought, why was it that I'm feeling agitated? And the answer was right in front of me- the big title of this post. I will be very frank with you. I was actually pursuing a flamboyant style of writing with impressive vocabulary. For what? So that people would admire my piece of writing. For SELF.

Loving oneself is not wrong, it is the right thing to do. However, that can easily turn into selfishness, when we give attention to and care for nobody but ourselves. Through the above examples, we can see that selfishness leads to quarrels, arguments, fights, scarred relationships, low self-esteem, doubt, worry, fear, frustration, agitation, devastation, desolation, destruction. It even extends beyond that. The love of money is the root of all evil, they say. But why would people love money? To use that money to buy anything and everything for self-gratification. Therefore selfishness is how greed entered world's history as well. In fact, the saying mentioned above was inaccurate; the unhealthy excessive love of self is the root of all evil. As long as one is self-centered, evil is bound to lurk. Selfishness is the root of all evil.*

*After further consideration, the love of money is still a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), reason being yes at first the pursuit of wealth is for self, but there's somehow a way things happen that in the end one gets enslaved by the love of money and is controlled by it, thus Matthew 6:24. In this case, the pursuit of money is no longer for self, but it has become one's master.
-05/11/2011

Let's face it. Let's face the ugly truth. We all know we are cruel, selfish people. Yes, even I, the writer, forgot about the essence of what I was writing when selfishness took over for that moment. But you know what? I will confront this ugly side of me. I am not going to hide or forget about it. After all, I typed this post for a purpose. To convey the important message to you(and me). That does not require bombastic words; simple English will do. The focus is definitely not on me. The focus is on you, getting the message. And if I can admit this flaw of mine and start changing myself, you can do the same.

But of course, we are definitely not alone. Thank God for Himself, the Holy Spirit and His ever-relevant Word! I would emphasize on relevant; believe it or not, the Word of God is especially relevant today! We had the 10 Commandments, but Jesus ingeniously yet at the same time precisely summarized them to 2. Take a look:

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.' "

~Matthew 22:37-39 [NIV]

When we start focusing our thoughts on something else, naturally we will think less of ourselves. And Jesus says the best things to occupy our minds with are God and our neighbours. To love both God and our neighbours, we place them above ourselves in terms of priority. As we serve them, we will find out there is so much more joy when we focus on others rather than ourselves. The following verses cannot make it any clearer to us:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. "

~Philippians 2:3-4 [NIV]

I believe Paul wrote this because he knew that caring for others not only benefits them, it benefits ourselves even more! Give it a try where you are right now. Whenever you become angry or agitated, try tracing the source of it. Chances are it's your selfishness. Stop caring so much about yourself and start being in others shoes and caring for their welfare. Life will change for you. By transferring our thoughts and attention to others, we escape from the snare of selfishness, which would, trust me, save us so much trouble in life.

***

Lord, You know all thoughts; everything in my heart is laid bare before You. There's no point in trying to hide from You, and so I confess my sin of selfishness right now. Forgive me for being selfish according to Your grace and mercy, and rescue me from being self-centered to the point of no return. I commit and surrender myself wholly to You almighty, awesome God, my Lord and my Saviour. Use me for Your glory; all glory is Yours, and Yours alone. Amen.

Life's good

• It's good that I'm disturbed by the jarring construction sounds and noises while I try to get an afternoon nap; it shows my ears are sensitive and working.
• It's good I'm eating such lousy food in a random restaurant; it shows my taste buds are functioning.
• It's good the rubbish truck has to pass by my house when I'm home; it shows I can still smell.
• It's good I feel the scorching heat of the sun while outside; it shows I have legs and am capable of even walking outside.
• It's good I'm always being nagged and barked at by my parents; it shows they're still alive and well.
• It's good I have to go through the hassle of combing my very messy hair each morning when I only have 3 minutes before I'm late for work; it shows I still have hair to comb.

Life is good. Thanks God for being so good to me!

Tripplehorn

If you're wondering what's with the title, well, only those who have watched a certain movie would find the word familiar. But no, it has nothing to do with what I'm about to blog. Okay, maybe a little, but I would render the connection infinitesimal. =D

***

Independence. Youth today are dying for it, nations fight for it. It is often viewed as a positive thing. How many of you always hear your father telling you ever since you were a kid: "NOW is the time to learn how to be independent. That way, you would be prepared for the world." Or even when you're a teenager, for that matter. Parents often stress the importance of it, don't they? And of course, what they're saying is true. Unless you plan to live with and rely on your parents to still be feeding you when you're forty-two, you definitely would want to be more independent during teenage-hood.

So it is that in this world, people strive for independence. We are in a sense, programmed to think and subsequently act that way. I'm not saying it's wrong, but that's human logic and thinking. As people grow, they somehow must manage to find a way to solve their own problems. Even more so when you're labeled an 'adult'. You're all on your own now, and it all boils down to whether you're independent enough for life. BUT... (yes there's a but)

But, is this the way to go in the Christian faith? Why, it's the exact opposite! Think about it. In whatever we do, all we need is to be totally dependent on God. Dependent for? For food, for clothes, for a solution, for a way to get out of the mess you just got yourself into. For EVERYTHING. Yet, as I have explained a whole lot earlier, because of the way we were brought up, it is just so hard for us to let go and let God.

***

For all of you gamers out there, what is the only way to beat your opponent in DOTA, Starcraft, Streetfighter and so on and so forth? No mercy. Yes, it is the only way. After all, if you don't kill him off, he'll kill you. And this is not only true in games, but life as well. We live in a competitive world where "Win-Lose" it's the only game available, or so it seems. When a friend comes up to you needing some help in, say, maths, how do you respond? Almost automatically your mind goes, "If I help him, he might score equal with or even better than me in the coming exam. Better not let that happen." Not wanting him to beat you in the test, or you 'losing' and he 'winning', you choose not to help and thus stand a better chance of 'winning', with him 'losing'. And the same goes in the work arena. Somehow, throughout the years, humans have become merciless creatures. Wait, I take that back; 'no mercy' has existed in human history ever since the days of Cain and Abel. No wonder we're what we are today.

Imagine if God was merciless. He would be saying, "I have given man the ten commandments, and I have clearly stated that if he breaks any one of them, he has to die. I've warned him already, and now he sins. Of course he has to pay for every sin he's committed. Far from it that I should help him the slightest bit. Why, he owes me his very life in every way possible!" Yet God spared our lives - at a very high price. We definitely should start replacing 'No mercy' with Yes mercy.

***

Even when you view this page, and when you see the big title right at the top, what comes to mind? "Eternity... that's after this life. After physical death, I would be able to enjoy eternity." That's what most people think, me included. So the statement above is true, right? WRONG.

You know, just a couple of weeks ago, while I was listening to a sermon, the speaker painted this picture for me: "One day in church, the Christians were all seated at their respective pews, waiting for the pastor to preach. The pastor came up to the pulpit, and requested all who confess to be Christians to raise their hands. So all who were Christians responded, lifting their hands up high. The pastor then turned back as if he were looking for something, and then he faced the crowd with a magnificent machine gun. While he pulls and holds the trigger, he waves it left and right at all those who were raising their hands. *JEGJEGJEGJEGJEGJEGJEG*"

I couldn't help but burst out in laughter, for no particular reason. It just sounded funny to me. XD Anyway, the speaker then explained to all of us that if Christians were able to enjoy eternity only after they die, then pastors in all churches would do that weekly; then everyone can enjoy! Of course, that's not the case. But it goes on to imply a much more subtle, yet greater significance - It means all of us can enjoy eternity RIGHT NOW. While we're on earth. While we're alive. While we're still breathing. Unfathomable? Check out what I came across a few days ago:

"God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."

~Ecclesiastes 3:11

Eternity's in your heart. You have a heart, don't you? And you're still alive, aren't you? That means you can enjoy eternity from the day you were born, not the day you die.

***

Oh, the irony.

Prioritize

We all know the famous King David; the one anointed by God after King Saul had disobeyed the LORD. All that the prophet Samuel knew was that the next, new anointed king was one of the sons of Jesse. So off Samuel goes looking for the new king, and in the process this is what happened:

"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person's thoughts and intentions."

~1 Samuel 16:7

Samuel had thought that Eliab, a son of Jesse, was surely the anointed one; he was tall and handsome, I suppose. But well, all that really meant absolutely nothing to God. Instead, He focuses on people's thoughts and intentions. And from my understanding, that's what really counts. So as much as we spend our time looking into the mirror, we should also spend, if not more, an equal amount of time examining our own thoughts and intentions. Sure, this whole thing about outward appearance being not-so-important is very familiar and a part of our knowledge already, but it's the obvious things that we often tend to overlook too.

Next, we move on to the story of Mary and Martha. Yet another familiar story, right? For the benefit of those who do not know, I'll briefly summarize it here. Jesus and his disciples had arrived at Mary and Martha's home. Martha, wanting to make sure they would have a full, sumptuous meal, is worrying about whether she was able to prepare it in time and she sees her sister lazing around - sitting at Jesus feet, listening to what he taught. How is it fair that while she sweats it out preparing dinner, her sister does nothing at all to help her? And so she complains to Jesus, hoping He would ask Mary to go and help her out.

"But the LORD said to her, "My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it - and I won't take it away from her.""

~Luke 10:41-42

Not exactly what Martha wanted to hear, but notice in Jesus' reply that she had focused on the wrong thing altogether - though she had good intentions.


Would we be willing to sacrifice the few hours of looking for the sleek leather shoes, shopping for the chic clothes, and looking into the mirror to check our own thoughts and intentions? Or perhaps you're more comfortable with the statement 'The clothes make the man.'? Living in this modern age, all too easily we tie ourselves down to so many commitments and responsibilities that we find ourselves too busy and start to worry whether we would be able to cope and keep up with the work - like Martha. But, are those details really all that important?

Think about it.

3:16

A just-for-fun matter turned out fruitful when I came across some meaningful and significant verses.
[All verses below are in the New International Version (NIV)]


The Old Testament has one or two encouraging verses, but seems to possess more negativity.

"Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor."

~Proverbs 3:16
Referring to wisdom. It's simple: Have wisdom; and long life, riches and honor are yours.

"Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name."

~Malachi 3:16
This is comforting. If we fear the LORD, we have hope because we will be remembered.

"To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.""

~Genesis 3:16
This marks the beginning of the history of the pains every woman would have to suffer in childbearing.

"He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust."

~Lamentations 3:16
Man, that has got to hurt.

"And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment-wickedness was there,
in the place of justice-wickedness was there."

~Ecclesiastes 3:16
Although the circumstance here is bad, it sounds familiar, doesn't it.

"Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?"

~Job 3:16
Okay, that's enough. Let's move on to the New Testament.

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him."

~Matthew 3:16
I believe this passage is pretty well known. Jesus; God's glorious son.

"John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

~Luke 3:16
John, whom people suspected to be the Messiah, corrected them by prophesying about Jesus' unique and authoritative baptism.

"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."

~Acts 3:16
Peter addressing the crowd after they witnessed his healing of the once lame beggar. Good to note that it wasn't by Peter's power, but merely faith in Jesus' name that the beggar was healed, completely.

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

~1 Corinthians 3:16
Paul writing to the Corinthians, but his above question definitely applies to us too. We, not the physical building of the church we go to, are the temple and the church; the Holy Spirit resides in us.

"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

~2 Corinthians 3:16
The veil of stubbornness and hardheartedness which prevents comprehension of God's word, that is. Turning to the Lord is all that is required for understanding. You should read the whole context to get a better picture of this.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

~Colossians 3:16
For the word to dwell in you richly, you've got to read it often. Then fully use them in teaching, singing and even praising God with a grateful heart.

"Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory."

~1 Timothy 3:16
Mystery of godliness. That itself is a mystery to me. But the verse was indeed speaking of the story of Jesus.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"

~2 Timothy 3:16
That is why the authority of the Bible is unquestionable, and why we should always go back to the scriptures in every part of learning and growing spiritually.

"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."

~James 3:16
Indeed. Moral of the story: Get rid of all envy and selfish ambition in you.

"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
The message is clear enough. Sacrifice.

"So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

~Revelation 3:16
It's either you're passionate(like burning hot, on fire) for Christ, or NOT(stonecold). No in between's, please.


And before you leave this page, here are some blessings for you:

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,"

~Ephesians 3:16

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you."

~2 Thessalonians 3:16





Not forgetting our Christian faith in a nutshell,

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

~John 3:16