ever so thankful

" The cross we carry is never so heavy as the chains from which we were once freed "

These were the exact words that i saw written on a poster when i was having dinner at one of my church member's house. Those words just speak so clearly of how we should see things the way God see things. I find that I often fail to see things from God's perspective, and always have myself thinking : ' if only i had seen it the way God saw it' .

The christian life may seem like a tough journey as we walk through it, sometimes we ask ourselves if it is even worthwhile; but if only we could see that the cross we carry as a christian is far better than the chains that bound us, we would know that given a second chance to choose, we would still choose Christ.

That reminds me of two songs by Steven Curtis Chapman:
No better place - I was eight years old when I decided to follow Jesus. I started down that road, somebody told me that this path that leads to heaven will not be the easy way. Well I found that to be true, but I also found, I found out there's no better place on earth than the road that leads to heaven. No other place I'd rather be!

Remember your chains - Remember your chains. Remember the prison that once held you before the love of God broke through. Remember the place you were without grace and when you see where you are now. Remember your chains and remember your chains are gone

So even if our cross feels heavy at any point in time, just remember that the heaviest weight of our cross can only bring us to our knees. And when we are on our knees before God, He will bless us and comfort us; but when the Lord Jesus carried His cross, the weight of it led Him to His death, even so He chose the cross, and we were the reason He did it. Hallelujah, what a savior!

my stronghold

Just before going to church this morning, thought just came into my mind about how I may consider many things in this world a "stronghold", something that i depend on to carry me through life. Whatever it may be, all these things seem to have its own flaws and are bound to fail at some point in time. It is a very depressing feeling to know that what you believed in, or what you hold on to all these years can actually fail you at some point in time, and by then you will have nothing else to reply on, so helpless.

However, the Lord's mercy never fails and has constantly reminded me of the fact that even if everything else fails, He will never fail and He will always be there to catch us when we fall. This will therefore mean that we should no longer hold on to the things that are fleeting, but hold on to the one thing that is trustworthy. It is a step of faith, but one that we all have to take to survive this dying world.

I can still remember the story of this faithful believer who left his village to share his testimony in the city. Despite all the wonderful hospitality and luxury he recieved, he chose to go back to his village. He said " I am very grateful for all that you have done to make this stay of mine a very pleasant one. However my day to day grip on the Lord is slipping away." He knew what mattered most, he knew who his stronghold should be, by God's grace many more will do the same.

George Muller's Museum

A picture of George Muller in the Museum

From a sinner to a faithful servant of God,
From an aspiring missionary to a
father of thousands of orphans,
George Muller - a man of prayer,
proved
to the people in Bristol that God is sovereign and those who put their trust in
Him will be blessed!

For those of you who want to see more pictures, please click on the link:
Museum photos

I haven't got the chance to go visit Ashley Downs yet, but when I do I will post up more pictures!

mistaken identity

"Will you stop calling me the wrong name!!" ... that will probably be my reaction the next time i hear someone miscall my name. I was walking back from buying my dinner when i met a friend, the first thing he said was to call the wrong name. It has been many occasions that i have been called the wrong name and I don't know how they could possibly get my name wrong. I know most of them don't mean it, but please, i don't look like the other guy, neither do i sound like him or act like him, the only similarity I can think of is that we are both of the same height. Don't get me wrong, I am not being sensitive over such matters, it is just that it would be nice to be recognized as who i am, instead of being called the wrong name all the time.

Another point of bringing up the matter is that I keep asking myself how much do i really see of myself before Christ? Do I also have the same need to be recognized as myself or do I see myself as insignificant before Christ. I am ashamed to say that many times I fail to see that the picture God is painting in my life is not me, but Christ. The challenge always is , do others see Christ in us? Just like the song from Joy Williams "...do they see Jesus in me, do they recognize His face...". Can others come up to us and "accidently" mistake us for someone who resembles Christ in character? or do we bear Christ's name in vain?

- I am crucified with Chirst: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me - Gal 2:20a (KJV)
- Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; - Eph 5:1 (KJV)

good news

It has indeed been a good saturday. One of the good news is that I witnessedthe baptism of a brother in Christ who has been through quite alot to come to this point where he has decided to obey the Lord and go through the waters of baptism. It is a wonderful thing to see the face of someone who find joy in obedience to the Lord. It makes you want to praise God all the more for who He is, because you are certain that obedience to the Lord can only bring blessing and nothing less.

Another very good news is that I just found out that my buddy who has been through secondary school with me who is currently in New Zealand actually came to know the Lord. It was certainly a pleasant surprise that has proved once again that God answers prayers. I am really happy for him, and I thank God for His love and mercy that never fails. Praise God for we have this assurance that the God who longs to save His people in the days of Abraham is the same God who loves us and still seeks to redeem us from sin and hell. Hallelujah, what a savior!

If you are reading this bro, you know it is you that I am talking about! Yes you! and I am glad you are in the family.

living as my savior did

I was reading an email regarding how real disciples should act, and how we are supposed to serve others, including people whom we may dislike or even those who may seemingly harm us. I thought of how true it is since that was what the Lord Jesus Christ encouraged us to do through his example of washing His disciples feet.

To be a real disciple is to follow the footsteps of the master. I sometimes wonder how far I am from following the master. I find myself wandering away from the footsteps that the Lord Jesus Christ has laid just a bit too often. Imagine going back nearly 2000 years in the past and being able to witness first hand how the Lord Jesus Christ lived his life., how he talked, laughed, cried, walked, worked, I am sure it would be awesome.

How can one man(although He was fully God) carry the weight of saving the world and yet is able to be gentle enough to show love to those who need love, strong enough to help those who need help, and compassionate enough to cry for those who are going through pain? I am glad my master could do it.

testing how to post pictures

me in my room in halls

I know it is kind of random putting up a photo of myself, but I wanted to know how to post pictures on the blog. So since it is my blog, I thought why not have my face in it! haha!

Well, half of my face at least...

living in the grey

I usually don't read forwarded mails, but I recieved a forwarded email from my friend with the heading " new rape case tactic", and i thought it should be good to be aware of such things. After reading through, the email mentioned that the newest tactic is to use a child who appears to be lost to trick the victim to find the house for the child, where she will then be made unconcious and raped.

Whether it is true or not, it is still appalling to read about such terrible tactics. What has become of the world that we are in danger even when we try to do good. Nowadays, we don't recieve people who seem to be homeless to our homes, we don't easily give others a ride home even when they seem lost, and now we may even be afraid to help a child, simply because people are less trust worthy these days. The fact is that evil has so seriously corrupted the human soul, even when we try to believe that we live in a more "civilised" world. The irony is that we are not better beings, we are just better "actors" hiding the true hideous nature that we are deteriorating into.

I don't want to know what our world will be like if our sense of doing what is right continues to be deterred by the insecurities of this world. I guess that is why it is harder for people to come to know the Lord these days. Everything seems to be in the grey, you can't really draw a clear line between right and wrong anymore, there is always the excuse that what is bad may be good and what is good may be bad. It is ridiculous and sad, but it is also a clear warning signal to believers that we need to be stronger to stand for what the holy spirit convicts us of right, and let God do the rest!

just like a new baby

I was just thinking about how babies are the most adorable beings in the world. Imagine finding a baby being left alone cold and hungry, you just can't help but to feel sorry for the little child. We sometimes read about people who adopt these poor babies and take care of them. Slowly but surely there is a bond that is being formed between the two. The longer the baby is under the care of that person, the harder it is for both of them to be separated.

So it is with us who are saved, we were once lost in darkness, until one blessed day, our Lord Jesus Christ came to adopt us into His family. The more we spend time with Him, the more we see His perfect being, and all the more we love Him.

I guess one of the most touching moments of having a child is when the child actually calls out to the parent. Just to hear a baby say "papa" or "mama" will make the strongest person's heart melt right before the child. I can't help but to think of what it means to God when we call Him Abba father. Does His heart beat a little faster? Does it make Him cry when we call out to Him in love? It is clear that He loves us very much, therefore I can only imagine how much it means to Him if we would give all we can to love Him back.

more to this life

Quoting from a song from Steven Curtis Chapman - [ ...More to this life, More than these eyes alone can see, And there's more than this Life alone can be...]. I sometimes think how did this world come to this point where it is and still fail to see that "our" way of life is failing, and the only way to live is "HIS" way.

The hectic lifestyle selfish pursuits ultimately brings us to only one result - nothing. Just like what J.B Nicholson Jr. said in one of his sermons, " When we had a choice between God or nothing, we chose nothing!" It is just sad that many of us are ignorant of this fact. The lifestyle that the world promotes may seem glamourous, but if we seriously think about it, it boils down to nothing, it is just temporary masquerade that leads us away from our creator.

I believe there is certainly more to this life that God has given to us. If only we can see beyond the apparent, and let God lead, I am sure we will be amazed at what our creator has meant this life to be. I don't know the what it will be like, but i am quite sure it is much more than what we have anticipated it to be, or anything that we can ever prepare for.

me myself and a whole lot more to life

The reason this blog exists is simply to share some parts of my life and how i see God working in them. I hope by God's grace and will, it may be an encouragement to some. I don't know much on how blogging works, but i will try to keep this blog in good shape, and hopefully improve as time passes.

God bless!