I've watched Narnia about 4 times now, almost all on TV, and I never fail to be captivated by it.
Especially where Peter goes," For Narnia and for Aslan!!!"
So much stirs inside of me when he charges into battle against evil.
And it always is interesting to 'ah!' about certain parts of the show; those that link back to the Bible. For those might not know, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a story of Jesus and his defeat of death written by CS Lewis, one of the greatest Christian writers of the 20th ( or was it 19th) century.
It was interesting to note that Lucy and her sister(forgot her name) accompanied Aslan and were there at his resurrection. So did Mary her mother, and Mary Magdelene at the Cross and at Jesus' tomb.
It was also another thing to note that Aslan went to the white witches castle to actually set the captives free before he actually went to battle with the white witch. Jesus went down to Hades to set the prisoners free before he ascended into Heaven. Amazing ah.
And how Aslan, after killing the white witch (defeating Death) turned to Peter and said that line we all know so well:
" It is finished."
But the part I liked the most was one of the last conversations with Lucy and the fawn.
" You shouldn't press him (Aslan). He's not a tame lion."
"But he's good."
Amen to that.
Jesus wasn't a tame man, nor a nice one. But He was good. Guys, God didn't call you to be tame or 'nice'. He called you to be wild. And good.
Anyway, I've decided I'm doing too many things that are irrelevant and just simply taking up my time for nothing, so I'm streamlining my activities. And blogging is one thing that has to go out of the window.
After this, I just have one last post to share, when I have more time to write. And then that's it. =)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Something has changed.
Something changed in my heart.
Suddenly, I don't like the TV or the computer anymore. It just suddenly lost all of its attraction to me. It's like... my heart saw something greater. Something.
Something's changed in my life.
And I'm glad.
=)
Suddenly, I don't like the TV or the computer anymore. It just suddenly lost all of its attraction to me. It's like... my heart saw something greater. Something.
Something's changed in my life.
And I'm glad.
=)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Daughter of Destiny
I was just reading Kathryn Kuhlman's Biography titled Daughter of Destiny.
(Kathryn Kuhlman is the spiritual mentor of Benny Hinn)
(Yeah, I put Pilgrim's Progress aside for a while. Typical of me. Haha)
Went through 9 chapters in one shot.
One thing I can say about her life. Wow.
Kathryn Kuhlman was not a perfect lady, with a perfect life. Far from that. She had her fall from grace which kept her out of ministry 8 years when she married a man who divorced his wife for her.
I'm just awed by the things she said, her life philosophies she held. It was alot of imperfections, alot of character flaws, alot of things not done right in her ministry.
But God used her.
That's the bottom line.
Many things about her life hit me, but I think what was key was this, I quote from the book:
When Kathryn preached those heart-searching messages on a jealous God who would not 'share the glory' with any earthly figure, she was preaching to herself. She knew how desperately she needed to hear that message and apply it to her own life. So she preached it over and over, for no minister in this century - perhaps even the Time of the Apostles - was under more pressure to weaken and accept some of the glory herself.
and the chapter ends with:
"At times," she once confided privately, " in my weakness, I just go ahead and accept the praise and thanksgiving. Sometimes I am so weary that if I did not accept some of the praise I would go under. And it seems God allows me to do it, just to keep me going. But at the end of the day, when I am all alone in my bedroom, I raise my hands toward heaven and say,' Dear Jesus, you know what they said abou me today. But now I give it all back to you. I am nothing, and nobdoy knows that better than e. I have no healing power. No healing virtue. There's nothing attractive in me. But dear Jesus, you are everything. And today the people got us all mied up. I didn't have the strength to straighten them out, but I know you understand. And now I give you all they gave me. I ask but one thing - take not your Holy Spirit from me, for without Him I will surely die."
Wow. Scarey. Haha.
But from the mouth of one of the greatest evangelists of the 20th century.
(Kathryn Kuhlman is the spiritual mentor of Benny Hinn)
(Yeah, I put Pilgrim's Progress aside for a while. Typical of me. Haha)
Went through 9 chapters in one shot.
One thing I can say about her life. Wow.
Kathryn Kuhlman was not a perfect lady, with a perfect life. Far from that. She had her fall from grace which kept her out of ministry 8 years when she married a man who divorced his wife for her.
I'm just awed by the things she said, her life philosophies she held. It was alot of imperfections, alot of character flaws, alot of things not done right in her ministry.
But God used her.
That's the bottom line.
Many things about her life hit me, but I think what was key was this, I quote from the book:
When Kathryn preached those heart-searching messages on a jealous God who would not 'share the glory' with any earthly figure, she was preaching to herself. She knew how desperately she needed to hear that message and apply it to her own life. So she preached it over and over, for no minister in this century - perhaps even the Time of the Apostles - was under more pressure to weaken and accept some of the glory herself.
and the chapter ends with:
"At times," she once confided privately, " in my weakness, I just go ahead and accept the praise and thanksgiving. Sometimes I am so weary that if I did not accept some of the praise I would go under. And it seems God allows me to do it, just to keep me going. But at the end of the day, when I am all alone in my bedroom, I raise my hands toward heaven and say,' Dear Jesus, you know what they said abou me today. But now I give it all back to you. I am nothing, and nobdoy knows that better than e. I have no healing power. No healing virtue. There's nothing attractive in me. But dear Jesus, you are everything. And today the people got us all mied up. I didn't have the strength to straighten them out, but I know you understand. And now I give you all they gave me. I ask but one thing - take not your Holy Spirit from me, for without Him I will surely die."
Wow. Scarey. Haha.
But from the mouth of one of the greatest evangelists of the 20th century.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Evening
Nowadays, I really appreciate the evenings that I'm able to reach home before 7 pm. I've been having meetings on Monday and Wedneday, and tonight is cell group meeting.
Last evening, I picked up a book I bought: Pilgrim's Progress.
It's an amazing book written by John Bunyan in the 17th century, but it remains a classic till today. In the preface, it writes," A book known by many as a Christian publication second only to the Bible."
Wow.
So yeah, anyway I pick up my garden chair, plonked it in the middle of the garden, and started reading, while observing the crimson evening sky, lit by the setting sun.
A lone street lamp stood as the foreground between me and the sky,
like a silent, still light standing in world going to sleep.
There is a certain poignancy in that image,
I know not what,
but like a reminder of a far away place,
a place yet to visit, but found in my heart.
Anyway, I cut myself off and went back to my book. I wanted to do some reading before it got too dark to stay in the garden.
Pilgrim's Progress is about John Bunyan's dream about a man named Christian, in his journey all the way to the Gate (salvattion) and finally to the Celestial City(Heaven) and all the trials, temptations, people he meets on the way. Some whom choose to follow him, some choose to turn away, some taking the wide and easy way leading to destruction.
Very interesting. Good read. =)
Last evening, I picked up a book I bought: Pilgrim's Progress.
It's an amazing book written by John Bunyan in the 17th century, but it remains a classic till today. In the preface, it writes," A book known by many as a Christian publication second only to the Bible."
Wow.
So yeah, anyway I pick up my garden chair, plonked it in the middle of the garden, and started reading, while observing the crimson evening sky, lit by the setting sun.
A lone street lamp stood as the foreground between me and the sky,
like a silent, still light standing in world going to sleep.
There is a certain poignancy in that image,
I know not what,
but like a reminder of a far away place,
a place yet to visit, but found in my heart.
Anyway, I cut myself off and went back to my book. I wanted to do some reading before it got too dark to stay in the garden.
Pilgrim's Progress is about John Bunyan's dream about a man named Christian, in his journey all the way to the Gate (salvattion) and finally to the Celestial City(Heaven) and all the trials, temptations, people he meets on the way. Some whom choose to follow him, some choose to turn away, some taking the wide and easy way leading to destruction.
Very interesting. Good read. =)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Morning
Today I was just sitting down at my kitchen for a cup of steaming hot tea of Lipton before I prepared to leave my house.
I observed the mango tree in my back garden,
how the leaves of the trees glistened in the morning light,
What a beautiful morning, I thought,
It's funny how mornings like this just you everyday but really, no one notices.
It's like God's way of hiding beauty in our lives,
until one day we see it.
Nature is so timeless, I thought
as I observed the purple flowers in their bloom in my front garden,
so oblivious to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
A part that beckons your heart to be slow,
when all else is asking you to hurry up.
Ah well, it's something simple, yet magical I experience in the morning,
That's why I adore the early mornings, and that's why people shouldn't wake up at 12.Hahaha.
I observed the mango tree in my back garden,
how the leaves of the trees glistened in the morning light,
What a beautiful morning, I thought,
It's funny how mornings like this just you everyday but really, no one notices.
It's like God's way of hiding beauty in our lives,
until one day we see it.
Nature is so timeless, I thought
as I observed the purple flowers in their bloom in my front garden,
so oblivious to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
A part that beckons your heart to be slow,
when all else is asking you to hurry up.
Ah well, it's something simple, yet magical I experience in the morning,
That's why I adore the early mornings, and that's why people shouldn't wake up at 12.Hahaha.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The 'mind' inside the mind
You know, sometimes I wish I could blog at an environment where there wasn't so much noise, but the basement which I have an internet in has, the TV on (with my brothers watching it) and my brothers' World of Warcraft on with all that noise. Plus all that flashing lights all over the place.
How to write from the heart. Haha.
For 2-3 weeks my Saturdays have been spent as a Sabbath. A time to reflect, to rest and to read. It's amazing how much God can speak to us when our hearts are still, when we're not thinking about the next thing we have to do or be done by Sunday.
I'll read in the garden, and occasionally put down my book to observe the stillness of the night. Sometimes looking up into the star lit night sky, relating to God. I would go for chapter after chapter.
I had an interesting revelation from a book I read yesterday, but more on it another day: Who we are being defined by what we do, especially this generation that almost worships efficiency and productivity often being labelled religiously as 'fruitfulness'.
But let it be for another day.
I just read something interesting which brought me back to 9 years old which I thought was good to share.
This is not to say the heart is only swirling emotion, mixed motives, and dark desire, without thought or reason. Far from it. According to Scripture, the heart is also where we do our deepest thinking. "Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts." is a common phrase in the Gospels. This might be most surprising to those who have accepted the Great Modern Mistake that "the mind equals reason and the heart equals emotion." Most people believe that. ...Solomon is remembered as the wisest man ever, and it was not because of the size of his brain. Rather, when God invited him to ask for anything in all the world, Solomon asked for wise and discerning heart. - Waking the Dead, John Eldredge
I remember at 9 years old, I was pondering this thought for a while ( yeah, the thinking alot went a long way back. Haha). I was thinking,' Wait, there's this voice in my head, that's speaking very loudly.' but.... ' there's another voice, this one softer.. what is it? Maybe it's the mind inside the mind.'
So that was what I settled for at 9 years old. The mind inside the mind.
The still small voice behind the voice of the mind.
If I could go back and tell the 9 year old me...
"It's just your heart."
Well, nothing revelational, but something that just popped up in my mind when I was reading.
Alright, now back to more time in the stillness of the night, away from the flashing colourful, noise-filled basement with its TV and World of Warcrafied laptops.
=)
How to write from the heart. Haha.
For 2-3 weeks my Saturdays have been spent as a Sabbath. A time to reflect, to rest and to read. It's amazing how much God can speak to us when our hearts are still, when we're not thinking about the next thing we have to do or be done by Sunday.
I'll read in the garden, and occasionally put down my book to observe the stillness of the night. Sometimes looking up into the star lit night sky, relating to God. I would go for chapter after chapter.
I had an interesting revelation from a book I read yesterday, but more on it another day: Who we are being defined by what we do, especially this generation that almost worships efficiency and productivity often being labelled religiously as 'fruitfulness'.
But let it be for another day.
I just read something interesting which brought me back to 9 years old which I thought was good to share.
This is not to say the heart is only swirling emotion, mixed motives, and dark desire, without thought or reason. Far from it. According to Scripture, the heart is also where we do our deepest thinking. "Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts." is a common phrase in the Gospels. This might be most surprising to those who have accepted the Great Modern Mistake that "the mind equals reason and the heart equals emotion." Most people believe that. ...Solomon is remembered as the wisest man ever, and it was not because of the size of his brain. Rather, when God invited him to ask for anything in all the world, Solomon asked for wise and discerning heart. - Waking the Dead, John Eldredge
I remember at 9 years old, I was pondering this thought for a while ( yeah, the thinking alot went a long way back. Haha). I was thinking,' Wait, there's this voice in my head, that's speaking very loudly.' but.... ' there's another voice, this one softer.. what is it? Maybe it's the mind inside the mind.'
So that was what I settled for at 9 years old. The mind inside the mind.
The still small voice behind the voice of the mind.
If I could go back and tell the 9 year old me...
"It's just your heart."
Well, nothing revelational, but something that just popped up in my mind when I was reading.
Alright, now back to more time in the stillness of the night, away from the flashing colourful, noise-filled basement with its TV and World of Warcrafied laptops.
=)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Writings of the Heart
Recently, I've decided to do one thing: To write from the heart.
Hence the new name of the blog.
But many times after I write, my first other instinct would be: Should I even post this up? What kind of reaction will it garner?
Maybe I should just keep my posts to updates on my everyday life and how everything is going on and stuff. That way, I don't ruffle feathers. That way, I
won't be vulnerable when my heart is seen.
Then I realized that's how alot of people live their lifes. From the false self, and not from the center of the heart.
Living from the heart often means that we'll be vulnerable and there's a chance for us to be hurt. Especially when we reveal our hearts and people don't treat that fragile thing with care.
When we are passionate about something and people around us tell us to just cool it off and follow the program.
But the real you exists in the heart; the invitation to know a person, is basically an invitation to know his heart.
God lives in your heart, and the way to be sensitive to God is to be sensitive to our hearts.
I was reading an article about Corrinne May, and she made a statement that resonated with me: "The best performances come from the heart; performing is about communication, about connecting with one’s audience. It is about reaching out to offer one’s story, one’s vulnerability, to a listener,” she stressed.
The power in a poet, in a writer, in a singer, in a preacher, is to speak from the heart, and to the heart. Sometimes you can sense it, whether something someone says is resonating from the heart, or is it just a shell. From the heart, the message becomes so much more powerful, whatever it may convey.
And I have an inkling that's where the power of God begins.
Anyway I've actually posted up another post before this, and I decided to take it down, because I felt.. it left me vulnerable. Which now I think about it, it does, and it wasn't wise to put it in cyberspace for the whole world to see.
I think the diary would do better.
The Glory of God is the man fully alive - St. Irenaeus
Hence the new name of the blog.
But many times after I write, my first other instinct would be: Should I even post this up? What kind of reaction will it garner?
Maybe I should just keep my posts to updates on my everyday life and how everything is going on and stuff. That way, I don't ruffle feathers. That way, I
won't be vulnerable when my heart is seen.
Then I realized that's how alot of people live their lifes. From the false self, and not from the center of the heart.
Living from the heart often means that we'll be vulnerable and there's a chance for us to be hurt. Especially when we reveal our hearts and people don't treat that fragile thing with care.
When we are passionate about something and people around us tell us to just cool it off and follow the program.
But the real you exists in the heart; the invitation to know a person, is basically an invitation to know his heart.
God lives in your heart, and the way to be sensitive to God is to be sensitive to our hearts.
I was reading an article about Corrinne May, and she made a statement that resonated with me: "The best performances come from the heart; performing is about communication, about connecting with one’s audience. It is about reaching out to offer one’s story, one’s vulnerability, to a listener,” she stressed.
The power in a poet, in a writer, in a singer, in a preacher, is to speak from the heart, and to the heart. Sometimes you can sense it, whether something someone says is resonating from the heart, or is it just a shell. From the heart, the message becomes so much more powerful, whatever it may convey.
And I have an inkling that's where the power of God begins.
Anyway I've actually posted up another post before this, and I decided to take it down, because I felt.. it left me vulnerable. Which now I think about it, it does, and it wasn't wise to put it in cyberspace for the whole world to see.
I think the diary would do better.
The Glory of God is the man fully alive - St. Irenaeus
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Mr. Nice Christian Guy
Recently something has been getting on my nerves, and I hastily just expressed it out in anger, not vulgarities, but just in a sense, “ranted” to my friends from church.
However sometimes, I get this vibe that, hey, “You know, you should just forgive and forget the whole incident.” I get this thing that you know, it’s unspiritual to actually talk about how pissed you, and be pissed. You should just be nice, and then say something really ‘religiously’ and ‘scripturally’ correct.
It reminded me of what I read in Wild At Heart some time back. You know, God wasn’t a very ‘religiously’ correct person. Our God is a passionate God, and He doesn’t have a problem displaying His anger, His love, His hatred, His sorrow. And He’s even got it down on paper! He even got someone to write it down.
Jesus, when He went to the temple, with pre-mediated aggression, ( He made the whip with the intention of going to the temple to use it), and turned the place upside down.
Would you call him a nice guy? The same way you call a nice guy today. Oh yah , “ XYZ, yeah, he’s a nice guy.”
Jesus wasn’t nice. But He was good. He was passionate. And he had no problems showing His anger.
Look at the apostles who turned the whole world upside down.
Nice guys? You couldn’t count the number of people they offended.
Yet when you look to the church today, what do you see? A whole bunch of ‘nice guys’. How many guys in the church today can you count on to hold that whip, walk into that church and start turning the place upside down?
How many guys today can you count on stand up strong against religiosity?
Nope. They’re more like ‘nice’ guys.
“XYZ, yeah he’s a nice guy.” That’s probably what you hear nowadays. But what happened to, “XYZ, wow he’s a wild and passionate guy!”
I remember having lunch with my friend one day, I asked her, “ What kind of guy do you prefer, the nice kind of guy you see nowadays in church, or the type who will stand up for you and beat up whoever who’s trying to bully you?”
“Really.”
“The second one.” She turns and look at her food.
Another one:
“ I can’t stand church guys. I want to find a guy outside church. Church guys are so.. eeee ”. “Spineless?”, I suggested. I laughed out loud. I know what she’s talking about. But she didn’t. She thought she was being unspiritual for thinking that. What a sad thing.
Jesus was alive. He was very in tune with His heart. He knew how he felt and He was not afraid of expressing it out.
Yet when you tell someone or give someone the impression that being angry and talking about it when he’s hurt, even if it’s a small thing, is unspiritual or you dismiss him with something like,"Hmm, just forgive alright?"; you really are telling him, “You know, your heart don’t matter.” Hey, when you put something else above God, you hurt him, and He gets mad, and He’s not afraid to tell you.
You should really read some of the things He says when He’s mad. If another Christian were to say it, you would think him: how unspiritual. Seriously. Go read your Bible. Sometimes I’m shocked at the things God would say to His people. My goodness, what explicit terms!
And Jesus would say, “ Hypocrite! White-washed tomb! Brood of vipers!” Wow. How ‘unspiritual’. And He didn’t sin? My goodness. Hur hur.
Or some of us would imagine Jesus in His most gentlemanly voice, “My, my, you guys really shouldn’t do that. It is not good, you know.” And really, isn’t that what we expect our guys to respond? Seriously. Check your heart.
Honestly, It sounds more like “Screw you!” or “Bastard!” in modern day language.
“Oh nono… Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Tsk tsk, Jesus, how could you!?”
What bullshit.
There’s this total misconception of ideas of servanthood, humility, about turning the other cheek.
The truth is, Jesus had the strength to rule, but He humbled himself, and served. That is His true strength, in being able to retaliate, to rule over people, but despite that, not doing so.
Many guys act the same way, the ones we call with a ‘servant’s heart.’ When they are hurt, they don’t retaliate. Wow. Good. Know how to ‘forgive’ and forget.
But the thing is, many times it is not they don’t retaliate. It’s because they cannot. They don’t have the strength to retaliate, they don’t have to strength to rule.
Jesus strength was in that while He could slap you back, He didn’t. He could rule, but He served.
Many guys today, they don’t slap you back because they simply can’t. They don’t lord over you, because they simply can’t. That is not TRUE
strength, That is NO strength.
I remember Pastor Kong shared a story in Bible school, once when he was a very young pastor, there was this guy that was two-timing two of the girls in his church. When he found out, he immediately asked the guy to come meet him with his teacher.
He first talked to the guy nicely, and the guy was appeared rather disinterested with the ‘what-can-you-do-with-me’ look.
Then Pastor Kong just stood up and banged the table, held him by his shirt collar and said, “If you ever lay hands on any of my two girls again, I’ll make sure you’ll get it from me!!” The guy was so shocked and frightened he almost cried, agreed, and never came into the girls’ lives again.
Now that is strength. That’s offering your strength.
How many ‘nice’ guys in church you see is capable of the same thing?
Turning the other cheek applies to people who can choose not to. It doesn’t apply to people who don’t have a choice anyway.
When you can retaliate and screw your enemy upside down but don’t. That’s real strength.
Forgiveness applies to people who have been hurt and want to seek justice. They don’t apply to people who think nothing of an offence; the people that go “Ah, it’s okay, it’s nothing” and suppress all that hurt inside. No, its NOT okay. When you acknowledge that you have been hurt, misunderstood and offended, and this strong desire to find justice for yourself comes up, but you put it aside and say, “I forgive.” That’s real strength.
And when our leaders encourage this behavior without teaching and helping guys discover their strength, they emasculate them.
“Wow, look at XYZ, he’s so serving. Everytime I ask him to do something, he’ll never say no.”
Eh, have you considered he doesn’t have the guts to say no to you?
And we celebrate it! Woohoo! Let’s all just do what our leaders tell us no matter how many ministries we’re holding and how little time we have for prayer, its okay. Let’s just be serving.
Oh, we just need to crucify our flesh and pray no matter how tired we are after we’re done.
If you loved your wife, would you set some quality time aside for her, time that you’re not tired, but alive and able to engage actively with her? Or would you leave her to the last agenda of the day and try to keep awake, telling her about your day and not listening at all? “You really have to pardon me, I’m the breadwinner of the house so I have to work till late, so I can’t give you my best time.”
What is strength? Strength is when you know your relationship with God is the most important thing above all, and you’re not afraid to say no to a few leaders because of it.
Strength is when you’re clear about God’s vision for your life and you know who to say no to, and who to say yes to.
That is strength. And no, when a person is ‘okaying’ to everything that is asked of him, including giving up his quality time with God. That is not servanthood. That is weakness.
Have you also considered that the guys that are okaying to everything are doing so because they don’t know what to do with their own life?
Be a God-pleaser, and not a church-leader pleaser. That is strength.
The truth is: With a culture like this, many of the passionate men, the same ones you see in the Bible, they are turned away by the church. They are labeled unspiritual, ungodly, rebellious, disobedient. NDW. Bah.
Would a man like Martin Luther who stood against the Roman Catholic Church in the dark ages and against ‘God’ be found in the church today? If Jesus would step into church today, would he find a group of passionate men, loving the truth, loving Him, knowing what their calling is, and pursuing it. Or would He come back to really find… ‘nice’ guys. yuck. Guys who are really just following the crowd, and just flowing along and being a great ‘servant’ and not knowing what they’re really there for?
The truth is: God uses shit-stirrers.
Yeah. People who can stir shit.(This is an army term for troublemaker).
He used Saul, who was passionately killing Christians. And with that same passion after conversion, Paul worked harder than any of the apostles.
Look at Martin Luther, who stirred a hell lot of shit in the Roman Catholic Church with his 93 thesis, then started the Protestant movement.
Look at Pastor Kong who filled his first church with youths that upset all the elders in the church, and started our church.
God uses passionate people. You can be passionate about the wrong thing, but God can re-direct your desires for the right thing.
But the #1 thing is Passion. It is Desire. God will use a man with desire. Not a man who knows how to follow the program.
And passion comes from knowing your heart. It comes from knowing that your heart is important, that your desires are important, your feelings are important to God. Yes YOURS. Don’t do the ‘My desires are God’s desires.’ It kills your heart.
And it doesn’t come by a sermon about “Let’s have MORE passion!” and then suddenly Passion comes. Ha. I wished it worked that way.
God needs people who can stir shit to change the world. He doesn’t need nice people.
And guess where does your first opponent come from when you decide to ‘stir shit’? No prizes for guessing: from the church. It’s ALWAYS from the church. Because the Pharisees haven’t died today.
That’s why the ones who can change the world aren’t even in church. Cos they’re stirring too much shit for the Pharisees inside the church to take. They’re the ‘unspiritual’, ‘bad attitude’ , ‘rebellious’ guys.
But they are the ones with the passion. The ones with the real strength.
“Why aren’t the guys rising up?”
Hur hur.
You cannot ask them for strength they don’t have. You have either chased them out of church or stripped them of it.
I think we have to be intentional here. We must help a guy find his strength, and then teach him to use it right.
Let’s not be nice guys. It kind of sucks.
And please don’t call me NICE.. eeeeee. I promise not to be nice from today onwards. Hahaha.
Turn to your neighbour and say, “ I’m a shit-stirrer.”
Ha. =)
Goodness. How unspiritual of him.
=P
However sometimes, I get this vibe that, hey, “You know, you should just forgive and forget the whole incident.” I get this thing that you know, it’s unspiritual to actually talk about how pissed you, and be pissed. You should just be nice, and then say something really ‘religiously’ and ‘scripturally’ correct.
It reminded me of what I read in Wild At Heart some time back. You know, God wasn’t a very ‘religiously’ correct person. Our God is a passionate God, and He doesn’t have a problem displaying His anger, His love, His hatred, His sorrow. And He’s even got it down on paper! He even got someone to write it down.
Jesus, when He went to the temple, with pre-mediated aggression, ( He made the whip with the intention of going to the temple to use it), and turned the place upside down.
Would you call him a nice guy? The same way you call a nice guy today. Oh yah , “ XYZ, yeah, he’s a nice guy.”
Jesus wasn’t nice. But He was good. He was passionate. And he had no problems showing His anger.
Look at the apostles who turned the whole world upside down.
Nice guys? You couldn’t count the number of people they offended.
Yet when you look to the church today, what do you see? A whole bunch of ‘nice guys’. How many guys in the church today can you count on to hold that whip, walk into that church and start turning the place upside down?
How many guys today can you count on stand up strong against religiosity?
Nope. They’re more like ‘nice’ guys.
“XYZ, yeah he’s a nice guy.” That’s probably what you hear nowadays. But what happened to, “XYZ, wow he’s a wild and passionate guy!”
I remember having lunch with my friend one day, I asked her, “ What kind of guy do you prefer, the nice kind of guy you see nowadays in church, or the type who will stand up for you and beat up whoever who’s trying to bully you?”
“Really.”
“The second one.” She turns and look at her food.
Another one:
“ I can’t stand church guys. I want to find a guy outside church. Church guys are so.. eeee ”. “Spineless?”, I suggested. I laughed out loud. I know what she’s talking about. But she didn’t. She thought she was being unspiritual for thinking that. What a sad thing.
Jesus was alive. He was very in tune with His heart. He knew how he felt and He was not afraid of expressing it out.
Yet when you tell someone or give someone the impression that being angry and talking about it when he’s hurt, even if it’s a small thing, is unspiritual or you dismiss him with something like,"Hmm, just forgive alright?"; you really are telling him, “You know, your heart don’t matter.” Hey, when you put something else above God, you hurt him, and He gets mad, and He’s not afraid to tell you.
You should really read some of the things He says when He’s mad. If another Christian were to say it, you would think him: how unspiritual. Seriously. Go read your Bible. Sometimes I’m shocked at the things God would say to His people. My goodness, what explicit terms!
And Jesus would say, “ Hypocrite! White-washed tomb! Brood of vipers!” Wow. How ‘unspiritual’. And He didn’t sin? My goodness. Hur hur.
Or some of us would imagine Jesus in His most gentlemanly voice, “My, my, you guys really shouldn’t do that. It is not good, you know.” And really, isn’t that what we expect our guys to respond? Seriously. Check your heart.
Honestly, It sounds more like “Screw you!” or “Bastard!” in modern day language.
“Oh nono… Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Tsk tsk, Jesus, how could you!?”
What bullshit.
There’s this total misconception of ideas of servanthood, humility, about turning the other cheek.
The truth is, Jesus had the strength to rule, but He humbled himself, and served. That is His true strength, in being able to retaliate, to rule over people, but despite that, not doing so.
Many guys act the same way, the ones we call with a ‘servant’s heart.’ When they are hurt, they don’t retaliate. Wow. Good. Know how to ‘forgive’ and forget.
But the thing is, many times it is not they don’t retaliate. It’s because they cannot. They don’t have the strength to retaliate, they don’t have to strength to rule.
Jesus strength was in that while He could slap you back, He didn’t. He could rule, but He served.
Many guys today, they don’t slap you back because they simply can’t. They don’t lord over you, because they simply can’t. That is not TRUE
strength, That is NO strength.
I remember Pastor Kong shared a story in Bible school, once when he was a very young pastor, there was this guy that was two-timing two of the girls in his church. When he found out, he immediately asked the guy to come meet him with his teacher.
He first talked to the guy nicely, and the guy was appeared rather disinterested with the ‘what-can-you-do-with-me’ look.
Then Pastor Kong just stood up and banged the table, held him by his shirt collar and said, “If you ever lay hands on any of my two girls again, I’ll make sure you’ll get it from me!!” The guy was so shocked and frightened he almost cried, agreed, and never came into the girls’ lives again.
Now that is strength. That’s offering your strength.
How many ‘nice’ guys in church you see is capable of the same thing?
Turning the other cheek applies to people who can choose not to. It doesn’t apply to people who don’t have a choice anyway.
When you can retaliate and screw your enemy upside down but don’t. That’s real strength.
Forgiveness applies to people who have been hurt and want to seek justice. They don’t apply to people who think nothing of an offence; the people that go “Ah, it’s okay, it’s nothing” and suppress all that hurt inside. No, its NOT okay. When you acknowledge that you have been hurt, misunderstood and offended, and this strong desire to find justice for yourself comes up, but you put it aside and say, “I forgive.” That’s real strength.
And when our leaders encourage this behavior without teaching and helping guys discover their strength, they emasculate them.
“Wow, look at XYZ, he’s so serving. Everytime I ask him to do something, he’ll never say no.”
Eh, have you considered he doesn’t have the guts to say no to you?
And we celebrate it! Woohoo! Let’s all just do what our leaders tell us no matter how many ministries we’re holding and how little time we have for prayer, its okay. Let’s just be serving.
Oh, we just need to crucify our flesh and pray no matter how tired we are after we’re done.
If you loved your wife, would you set some quality time aside for her, time that you’re not tired, but alive and able to engage actively with her? Or would you leave her to the last agenda of the day and try to keep awake, telling her about your day and not listening at all? “You really have to pardon me, I’m the breadwinner of the house so I have to work till late, so I can’t give you my best time.”
What is strength? Strength is when you know your relationship with God is the most important thing above all, and you’re not afraid to say no to a few leaders because of it.
Strength is when you’re clear about God’s vision for your life and you know who to say no to, and who to say yes to.
That is strength. And no, when a person is ‘okaying’ to everything that is asked of him, including giving up his quality time with God. That is not servanthood. That is weakness.
Have you also considered that the guys that are okaying to everything are doing so because they don’t know what to do with their own life?
Be a God-pleaser, and not a church-leader pleaser. That is strength.
The truth is: With a culture like this, many of the passionate men, the same ones you see in the Bible, they are turned away by the church. They are labeled unspiritual, ungodly, rebellious, disobedient. NDW. Bah.
Would a man like Martin Luther who stood against the Roman Catholic Church in the dark ages and against ‘God’ be found in the church today? If Jesus would step into church today, would he find a group of passionate men, loving the truth, loving Him, knowing what their calling is, and pursuing it. Or would He come back to really find… ‘nice’ guys. yuck. Guys who are really just following the crowd, and just flowing along and being a great ‘servant’ and not knowing what they’re really there for?
The truth is: God uses shit-stirrers.
Yeah. People who can stir shit.(This is an army term for troublemaker).
He used Saul, who was passionately killing Christians. And with that same passion after conversion, Paul worked harder than any of the apostles.
Look at Martin Luther, who stirred a hell lot of shit in the Roman Catholic Church with his 93 thesis, then started the Protestant movement.
Look at Pastor Kong who filled his first church with youths that upset all the elders in the church, and started our church.
God uses passionate people. You can be passionate about the wrong thing, but God can re-direct your desires for the right thing.
But the #1 thing is Passion. It is Desire. God will use a man with desire. Not a man who knows how to follow the program.
And passion comes from knowing your heart. It comes from knowing that your heart is important, that your desires are important, your feelings are important to God. Yes YOURS. Don’t do the ‘My desires are God’s desires.’ It kills your heart.
And it doesn’t come by a sermon about “Let’s have MORE passion!” and then suddenly Passion comes. Ha. I wished it worked that way.
God needs people who can stir shit to change the world. He doesn’t need nice people.
And guess where does your first opponent come from when you decide to ‘stir shit’? No prizes for guessing: from the church. It’s ALWAYS from the church. Because the Pharisees haven’t died today.
That’s why the ones who can change the world aren’t even in church. Cos they’re stirring too much shit for the Pharisees inside the church to take. They’re the ‘unspiritual’, ‘bad attitude’ , ‘rebellious’ guys.
But they are the ones with the passion. The ones with the real strength.
“Why aren’t the guys rising up?”
Hur hur.
You cannot ask them for strength they don’t have. You have either chased them out of church or stripped them of it.
I think we have to be intentional here. We must help a guy find his strength, and then teach him to use it right.
Let’s not be nice guys. It kind of sucks.
And please don’t call me NICE.. eeeeee. I promise not to be nice from today onwards. Hahaha.
Turn to your neighbour and say, “ I’m a shit-stirrer.”
Ha. =)
Goodness. How unspiritual of him.
=P
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Apologies
Apologies for not writing for so long, it's just that I have found a new love in spending my time being silent in the garden, sometimes reading, sometimes just waiting.
I've been penning down my deepest thoughts in paper instead, I find it more of a release than actually writing them in the public cyberspace.
----
I just read Xiaohui's blog about the book "God is not great". Haha, and that kick in that stomach. I can so identify with it. Oh, when I first started out as a Christian, the first book that kicked me in the stomach was the Gospel of Judas.
It's been a long time since. Now I look at these books and just give a knowing smile.
Because I know one thing, God cannot be explained away. He just simply can't. How do you explain away someone whom you've been with for the past 2 years, having a loving relationship with? You use a retina structure? C'mon... You got to do better than that.
God is real. And He is real to those who have chosen to seek Him, because they found. And that's what God promises, if you want to seek Me, you will find Me.
No, it's not the 'if you think it true, then it is true' bull. Nope.
God is so elusive, those who have never found Him will spend their life trying to explain Him in , or explain Him out. None succeed.
God is known by our hearts, not our minds. We know God exists because we know. I like to use what Aaragon said to Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings.
" What does your heart tell you?"
Listen.
Be still.
Ask your heart. Your mind will never comprehend Him. Never. Maybe on that day when we are perfected, we might. But not today.
As you stood before, in the face of an awesome sight.
The orange glowing morning sun, rising in the distant land, where the heavens meet the earth. The warm morning breeze that brushes against your cheeks. You close your eyes. You are captivated.
You are held by an unseen glory that holds your heart captive.
You feel your heart wrench, the sight stirs up a longing in your heart.
The Ageless Romancer is wooing your heart, romancing your heart. He stirs this longing for a life eternal. A life that is beyond the everyday rushing to work, the everyday striving for success. The longing, for Eden.
For Home.
There is something in our hearts that tells us, as we stare into the sunset, no, we are not home.
Even at a young age, I find myself being woo-ed, being romanced by this beauty. I would stare into the trees in faraway places. Into the mountains far far away. It seemed somehow...
I would sigh.
I didn't know why.
I didn't know. I was being romanced by the Ageless Romancer.
And so I grew up. But the search for Heaven never ends. Some of us, we think we might find Heaven in that million dollars. Some of us, we think Heaven is in finding that romance. For me, Heaven is going away from Singapore into some remote regions of Europe in the mountains, start a farm and settle down with your family and live there till the day we die.
But we never find it. Our search alone exposes the answer. We are not home. We are not home. For that purpose, The Romancer has placed eternity in our hearts, so that we will find our way Home.
Yes. Home.
I imagine my home, basked in the orange glow of the morning sun. As I step into the front door, a little girl comes and embraces me. And as I step into the kitchen, a lady smiles with perfect radiant white teeth, eyes filled with joy at my return. She is working on the dinner we're going to feast on tonight.
I turn around. I'm surprised to see that the orange glow is emitted not by the sun, but by something beyond the lush green hills. I take a walk through the trees, their flowers in full blossom, arrayed in perfect colour. The leafs sway in the gentle breeze, reflecting the warm embrace of the orange glow. The first drop of morning dew falls from the leaf, disappearing into the grass underfoot.
There is a peace. A warmth.
I walk toward the hills, wanting to see what laid beyond. I take a slow walk up its gentle slope, and behold...
The Temple of Jerusalem.
A temple of gold, diamonds, of the most precious gems man has ever seen. Radiating such light that the whole of the heavens are lit. Such a beautiful orange glow that is not piercing, but mild yet lighting all of Heaven.
There is a Presence within the Temple.
An undeniable presence.
His house.
And your heart tells you: You are Home.
----
You don't have to rationalize it.
Listen carefully to your heart.
Just listen.
What does it tell you?
Just wait.
And listen.
You'll have your answer.
And so, God and Heaven don't exist because you believe you got a better idea for a retina?
Try harder.
Listen.
What does your heart tell you?
I've been penning down my deepest thoughts in paper instead, I find it more of a release than actually writing them in the public cyberspace.
----
I just read Xiaohui's blog about the book "God is not great". Haha, and that kick in that stomach. I can so identify with it. Oh, when I first started out as a Christian, the first book that kicked me in the stomach was the Gospel of Judas.
It's been a long time since. Now I look at these books and just give a knowing smile.
Because I know one thing, God cannot be explained away. He just simply can't. How do you explain away someone whom you've been with for the past 2 years, having a loving relationship with? You use a retina structure? C'mon... You got to do better than that.
God is real. And He is real to those who have chosen to seek Him, because they found. And that's what God promises, if you want to seek Me, you will find Me.
No, it's not the 'if you think it true, then it is true' bull. Nope.
God is so elusive, those who have never found Him will spend their life trying to explain Him in , or explain Him out. None succeed.
God is known by our hearts, not our minds. We know God exists because we know. I like to use what Aaragon said to Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings.
" What does your heart tell you?"
Listen.
Be still.
Ask your heart. Your mind will never comprehend Him. Never. Maybe on that day when we are perfected, we might. But not today.
As you stood before, in the face of an awesome sight.
The orange glowing morning sun, rising in the distant land, where the heavens meet the earth. The warm morning breeze that brushes against your cheeks. You close your eyes. You are captivated.
You are held by an unseen glory that holds your heart captive.
You feel your heart wrench, the sight stirs up a longing in your heart.
The Ageless Romancer is wooing your heart, romancing your heart. He stirs this longing for a life eternal. A life that is beyond the everyday rushing to work, the everyday striving for success. The longing, for Eden.
For Home.
There is something in our hearts that tells us, as we stare into the sunset, no, we are not home.
Even at a young age, I find myself being woo-ed, being romanced by this beauty. I would stare into the trees in faraway places. Into the mountains far far away. It seemed somehow...
I would sigh.
I didn't know why.
I didn't know. I was being romanced by the Ageless Romancer.
And so I grew up. But the search for Heaven never ends. Some of us, we think we might find Heaven in that million dollars. Some of us, we think Heaven is in finding that romance. For me, Heaven is going away from Singapore into some remote regions of Europe in the mountains, start a farm and settle down with your family and live there till the day we die.
But we never find it. Our search alone exposes the answer. We are not home. We are not home. For that purpose, The Romancer has placed eternity in our hearts, so that we will find our way Home.
Yes. Home.
I imagine my home, basked in the orange glow of the morning sun. As I step into the front door, a little girl comes and embraces me. And as I step into the kitchen, a lady smiles with perfect radiant white teeth, eyes filled with joy at my return. She is working on the dinner we're going to feast on tonight.
I turn around. I'm surprised to see that the orange glow is emitted not by the sun, but by something beyond the lush green hills. I take a walk through the trees, their flowers in full blossom, arrayed in perfect colour. The leafs sway in the gentle breeze, reflecting the warm embrace of the orange glow. The first drop of morning dew falls from the leaf, disappearing into the grass underfoot.
There is a peace. A warmth.
I walk toward the hills, wanting to see what laid beyond. I take a slow walk up its gentle slope, and behold...
The Temple of Jerusalem.
A temple of gold, diamonds, of the most precious gems man has ever seen. Radiating such light that the whole of the heavens are lit. Such a beautiful orange glow that is not piercing, but mild yet lighting all of Heaven.
There is a Presence within the Temple.
An undeniable presence.
His house.
And your heart tells you: You are Home.
----
You don't have to rationalize it.
Listen carefully to your heart.
Just listen.
What does it tell you?
Just wait.
And listen.
You'll have your answer.
And so, God and Heaven don't exist because you believe you got a better idea for a retina?
Try harder.
Listen.
What does your heart tell you?
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