Have been thinking about heaven recently. Read about it, thought about it and spoke about it. Perhaps I am getting to an age where I am a step closer to the door that leads to it.
Often people do not want to think about what lies beyond death preferring to focus on the here and now.
But I submit that we cannot truly live till we are ready to die.
Our purpose and meaning for our lives are tightly coupled to our readiness and understanding of what lies beyond the doorway of death.
Jesus said "I am the door, if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture".
Incredible words but how true its promise - only one door to eternal bliss and rest - Jesus Christ.
The other door (of self-effort, self belief, self-centredness) leads to eternal misery and unrest.
Heaven is for real for God is real and where God is, there is heaven.
Hell is for real for where there is no presence of God, that is hell.
Dear reader, choose this day which door you will enter for eternity starts today.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Creator, Servant, Saviour King
Truly God is our Creator King!
He did not just create us and let us fend for ourselves. Nor did He rule us with an iron hand as a dictator. No, He created us AND desire to reign over us for our good (if we allow Him to do so).
We are NOT created as robots but as free-will agents with choice - to choose to love Him and submit to Him or to reject and rebel against Him.
Truly God is our Servant King!
He came to serve us and not to be served. Yet His servanthood does not diminish His dignity and authority as King of kings. His exemplary Servant model of leading us shows us what His kingdom is like - leading by serving.
Truly God is our Saviour King!
He gave up His life willingly for us on the Cross of Calvary. He is the righteous King who judges and punishes all who are evil. All of us are evil sinners - we all know our hearts. Yet our King, after pronouncing the sentence, took upon Himself, our punishment so that we do not have to do so. Do we willingly allow Him to reign in us with the thought of "Amazing Love, how can it be, that You my God would die for me!" or do we reject Him and treat with contempt His salvation freely given to us?
This Good Friday/Easter, let us be reminded to continually thank our Lord Jesus, our Creator, Servant and Saviour King!
He did not just create us and let us fend for ourselves. Nor did He rule us with an iron hand as a dictator. No, He created us AND desire to reign over us for our good (if we allow Him to do so).
We are NOT created as robots but as free-will agents with choice - to choose to love Him and submit to Him or to reject and rebel against Him.
Truly God is our Servant King!
He came to serve us and not to be served. Yet His servanthood does not diminish His dignity and authority as King of kings. His exemplary Servant model of leading us shows us what His kingdom is like - leading by serving.
Truly God is our Saviour King!
He gave up His life willingly for us on the Cross of Calvary. He is the righteous King who judges and punishes all who are evil. All of us are evil sinners - we all know our hearts. Yet our King, after pronouncing the sentence, took upon Himself, our punishment so that we do not have to do so. Do we willingly allow Him to reign in us with the thought of "Amazing Love, how can it be, that You my God would die for me!" or do we reject Him and treat with contempt His salvation freely given to us?
This Good Friday/Easter, let us be reminded to continually thank our Lord Jesus, our Creator, Servant and Saviour King!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Ungratefulness - the scourge of mankind
It is increasingly evident that the trend towards ungratefulness is increasing as many nations and societies become more affluent. Ungratefulness results in many boorish behaviour exhibited in society - whether road bullies, inconsiderate neighbours and habitual complainers.
Ungratefulness breeds a wrong mindset that assumes a right to be served first and always - requiring all to meet the needs and wants of the ungrateful.
To counter this, all of us need to learn to be grateful and thankful each day.
Gratefulness to God who created us and all things for us to enjoy.
Gratefulness to God for those people He brings into our lives that encourages us and even rebukes us in love.
Gratefulness to God in His sovereign purpose and will that places us where we should live and work.
And the list goes on... being thankful never ends as long as we live.
Why not start today to thank God for one thing? Then continue each day to add one more and one more till you have 10,000 reasons or more why we should be grateful.
May we, made in the image of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus and daily being filled by the Holy Spirit, exhibit an attitude and mindset of thankfulness always.
"To thank or not to thank, there is no question about it - always be thankful"
Ungratefulness breeds a wrong mindset that assumes a right to be served first and always - requiring all to meet the needs and wants of the ungrateful.
To counter this, all of us need to learn to be grateful and thankful each day.
Gratefulness to God who created us and all things for us to enjoy.
Gratefulness to God for those people He brings into our lives that encourages us and even rebukes us in love.
Gratefulness to God in His sovereign purpose and will that places us where we should live and work.
And the list goes on... being thankful never ends as long as we live.
Why not start today to thank God for one thing? Then continue each day to add one more and one more till you have 10,000 reasons or more why we should be grateful.
May we, made in the image of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus and daily being filled by the Holy Spirit, exhibit an attitude and mindset of thankfulness always.
"To thank or not to thank, there is no question about it - always be thankful"
Monday, February 17, 2014
Can Jesus find faith when He comes again?
In Luke 18:8, the Lord Jesus asked this question: "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
This faith is NOT faith in ourselves though many (even Christians) profess faith with their mouths in the Lord but inwardly their faith is in themselves and their abilities.
This faith is NOT faith in systems though there are good ways of doing things but ultimately these systems cannot replace doing God's will (which sometimes may seem illogical or foolish).
This faith is NOT faith in leaders and their teachings though they may be walking in God's purpose for every human person cannot always be right and never make a mistake.
True faith is in the Lord Jesus that we can say and act on the premise that Forsaking All I Trust Him only and this is sufficient to make all things possible and to do all things.
This faith is NOT faith in ourselves though many (even Christians) profess faith with their mouths in the Lord but inwardly their faith is in themselves and their abilities.
This faith is NOT faith in systems though there are good ways of doing things but ultimately these systems cannot replace doing God's will (which sometimes may seem illogical or foolish).
This faith is NOT faith in leaders and their teachings though they may be walking in God's purpose for every human person cannot always be right and never make a mistake.
True faith is in the Lord Jesus that we can say and act on the premise that Forsaking All I Trust Him only and this is sufficient to make all things possible and to do all things.
Where is your faith today?
Thursday, January 9, 2014
My Story 10 (the final chapter)
How time moves!
I realised that I have been working for 30 years since my first job in 1983.
I was introduced to the world of work in my third year of university which was the year of industry attachment. The Lord enabled me to work in two different companies for 6 months each. It was an interesting learning experience to work in companies with different management style and culture.
The first company was a British company dealing with computers. The division I was attached to was the research and development arm of the company. Hence I had the opportunity to work on projects related to state-of-the-art computer technology back then. I learned that following Christ in the workplace meant that I will do my best at work and being a listening ear to colleagues whom the Lord bring me in contact with.
The second company for the second half of my year in industry was a Japanese manufacturing giant. This particular division was manufacturing television sets, refrigerators and other home appliances. What an interesting exposure I had to a totally different management style and culture! Morning exercise was mandatory back then! Dress code was company shirt (dark grey) with the unwritten but widely followed rule that junior executives cannot leave work before their bosses leave. It was good that I was not an employee and hence I could leave at the end of the day without waiting for my supervisor to leave! I learned that even though the company had a regimented (almost military) style of management, the Lord could open opportunities to witness. I managed to start a short Bible study during the lunch hour with a few operators with the help of a sister-in-Christ who used to be with Jehovah Witness. She said she left the cult because one day she realised that Jesus is God because the Bible said "Jesus is the Shepherd" and in Psalm 23, the Lord is the Shepherd and hence Jesus must be the Lord. How wonderful is the Holy Spirit to illuminate her with understanding and bringing her to Himself. It was during this six months too that I had an opportunity to rent a room from a house church. The pastor and his wife even gave me opportunities to lead worship and share the Word during some of their meetings.
My first job after graduation was a miracle orchestrated by God. When I returned from England after my studies, I applied for a dozen jobs but none replied. Then I tried this company - an American multi-national dealing with wafer fabrication and testing. They replied within the week and asked me to come down for an interview. They offered me a job on the spot and I joined them as an Equipment Engineer in September 1983. It was training on the job as my degree was in telecommunications and the work I was doing in the company was software maintenance and assembly level programming. What a challenge it was to learn as I worked! In terms of workplace ministry, the Lord opened up an opportunity to start a office group in which we even had a bi-monthly newsletter. We had many opportunities to sow the gospel and I believed some of the seed sown have borne fruit though I was only in the company for 3.5 years. Flexibility and innovation were key values of this first company I worked in. When I conducted a training class for some technical staff because of some software changes that I did, the Lord used that to kindle the desire in my heart to consider training and education as my next step in my career.
I applied to a local polytechnic in the west and after two interviews, I joined the institution in 1987 to start my career in polytechnic education. This is a milestone in my working life as I have been teaching in post-secondary education since then (more than 26 years!) Learning to teach and teaching to learn - this is the life of an educator. Over the years I have taught many different subject areas ranging from hardware-related to software programming. I spent 7 years in this polytechnic in the west of the island before joining my current institution in the east. In those seven years, I worked under 2 principals. The second principal was a man of character and integrity. He was one who lived out his Christian faith openly (he literally wear his faith on his shirt collar with a miniature cross pinned to it everyday). Under his leadership, I had the opportunity to see various para-church organisations reached out to staff and students with the gospel in various events such as having Andre Kole, a professional illusionist, presenting the gospel through magic. (It is interesting that many years before my own pastor began his magic/illusion ministry, I had an opportunity to have a front row seat to this kind of ministry!)
I continued to share my faith at every opportunity that God gave. A few years ago, I met an ex-student in church and he asked whether I remembered him. I vaguely remembered that I taught him before. He said he remembered the day I shared with the class my testimony. Praise the Lord for the seed sown!
In 1994, the opportunity came for me to move to the east in terms of workplace. I had been travelling every day for about a hour from my home in the east to work in the west. Now, I have been working in my current place of work, which is my third employer, for almost 20 years. When I came in, we were among the early pioneering batch of staff and most things (including the current location) were not in place. It was challenging but enjoyable to be part of that work in doing things from scratch. Being a small number, relationships were closer and I managed to use the early years of email to encourage the first group of believers among the staff. Most of them have left over the years. Even my years are numbered as I approach retirement age. But God has been working and I believe His Word will go forth to accomplish His purposes in my workplace (Lord, revival and more salvation!).
Dear reader, always remember that we are called to serve wherever we are and when we work, we work for the glory of our Lord and to do His will. May you experience His leading in everything you do even at your work place. Arise and shine for His glory is upon you!
I realised that I have been working for 30 years since my first job in 1983.
I was introduced to the world of work in my third year of university which was the year of industry attachment. The Lord enabled me to work in two different companies for 6 months each. It was an interesting learning experience to work in companies with different management style and culture.
The first company was a British company dealing with computers. The division I was attached to was the research and development arm of the company. Hence I had the opportunity to work on projects related to state-of-the-art computer technology back then. I learned that following Christ in the workplace meant that I will do my best at work and being a listening ear to colleagues whom the Lord bring me in contact with.
The second company for the second half of my year in industry was a Japanese manufacturing giant. This particular division was manufacturing television sets, refrigerators and other home appliances. What an interesting exposure I had to a totally different management style and culture! Morning exercise was mandatory back then! Dress code was company shirt (dark grey) with the unwritten but widely followed rule that junior executives cannot leave work before their bosses leave. It was good that I was not an employee and hence I could leave at the end of the day without waiting for my supervisor to leave! I learned that even though the company had a regimented (almost military) style of management, the Lord could open opportunities to witness. I managed to start a short Bible study during the lunch hour with a few operators with the help of a sister-in-Christ who used to be with Jehovah Witness. She said she left the cult because one day she realised that Jesus is God because the Bible said "Jesus is the Shepherd" and in Psalm 23, the Lord is the Shepherd and hence Jesus must be the Lord. How wonderful is the Holy Spirit to illuminate her with understanding and bringing her to Himself. It was during this six months too that I had an opportunity to rent a room from a house church. The pastor and his wife even gave me opportunities to lead worship and share the Word during some of their meetings.
My first job after graduation was a miracle orchestrated by God. When I returned from England after my studies, I applied for a dozen jobs but none replied. Then I tried this company - an American multi-national dealing with wafer fabrication and testing. They replied within the week and asked me to come down for an interview. They offered me a job on the spot and I joined them as an Equipment Engineer in September 1983. It was training on the job as my degree was in telecommunications and the work I was doing in the company was software maintenance and assembly level programming. What a challenge it was to learn as I worked! In terms of workplace ministry, the Lord opened up an opportunity to start a office group in which we even had a bi-monthly newsletter. We had many opportunities to sow the gospel and I believed some of the seed sown have borne fruit though I was only in the company for 3.5 years. Flexibility and innovation were key values of this first company I worked in. When I conducted a training class for some technical staff because of some software changes that I did, the Lord used that to kindle the desire in my heart to consider training and education as my next step in my career.
I applied to a local polytechnic in the west and after two interviews, I joined the institution in 1987 to start my career in polytechnic education. This is a milestone in my working life as I have been teaching in post-secondary education since then (more than 26 years!) Learning to teach and teaching to learn - this is the life of an educator. Over the years I have taught many different subject areas ranging from hardware-related to software programming. I spent 7 years in this polytechnic in the west of the island before joining my current institution in the east. In those seven years, I worked under 2 principals. The second principal was a man of character and integrity. He was one who lived out his Christian faith openly (he literally wear his faith on his shirt collar with a miniature cross pinned to it everyday). Under his leadership, I had the opportunity to see various para-church organisations reached out to staff and students with the gospel in various events such as having Andre Kole, a professional illusionist, presenting the gospel through magic. (It is interesting that many years before my own pastor began his magic/illusion ministry, I had an opportunity to have a front row seat to this kind of ministry!)
I continued to share my faith at every opportunity that God gave. A few years ago, I met an ex-student in church and he asked whether I remembered him. I vaguely remembered that I taught him before. He said he remembered the day I shared with the class my testimony. Praise the Lord for the seed sown!
In 1994, the opportunity came for me to move to the east in terms of workplace. I had been travelling every day for about a hour from my home in the east to work in the west. Now, I have been working in my current place of work, which is my third employer, for almost 20 years. When I came in, we were among the early pioneering batch of staff and most things (including the current location) were not in place. It was challenging but enjoyable to be part of that work in doing things from scratch. Being a small number, relationships were closer and I managed to use the early years of email to encourage the first group of believers among the staff. Most of them have left over the years. Even my years are numbered as I approach retirement age. But God has been working and I believe His Word will go forth to accomplish His purposes in my workplace (Lord, revival and more salvation!).
Dear reader, always remember that we are called to serve wherever we are and when we work, we work for the glory of our Lord and to do His will. May you experience His leading in everything you do even at your work place. Arise and shine for His glory is upon you!
Sunday, December 29, 2013
The End and the Beginning
One year ends and another begins. What can we learn?
I learned that we can:
1) Look Back in thanksgiving on how our Heavenly Father has shown His Love to us in helping us throughout the year.
2) Look Forward in anticipation and Hope to what He will do in the coming year.
3) Look Up daily in Faith to believe and trust His promises that what He said will come true.
We all have a choice to believe and obey the Truth of God or the lies of the evil one. Who do you believe today?
I learned too that we have the Triple A rating before the Lord.
We, His children, all have been:
a) Appointed by Him having a destiny to achieve (the Hope of our salvation)
b) Anointed by Him having the power to achieve (the Faith of our salvation)
c) Approved by Him having the motivation to achieve - not to gain favour in service but having favour to serve in gratitude (the unconditional Love of our salvation)
Let us move into the new year with this assurance, we are on God's side and He has given us His Triple A rating to fulfill our destiny and purpose. Hallelujah and Amen!
I learned that we can:
1) Look Back in thanksgiving on how our Heavenly Father has shown His Love to us in helping us throughout the year.
2) Look Forward in anticipation and Hope to what He will do in the coming year.
3) Look Up daily in Faith to believe and trust His promises that what He said will come true.
We all have a choice to believe and obey the Truth of God or the lies of the evil one. Who do you believe today?
I learned too that we have the Triple A rating before the Lord.
We, His children, all have been:
a) Appointed by Him having a destiny to achieve (the Hope of our salvation)
b) Anointed by Him having the power to achieve (the Faith of our salvation)
c) Approved by Him having the motivation to achieve - not to gain favour in service but having favour to serve in gratitude (the unconditional Love of our salvation)
Let us move into the new year with this assurance, we are on God's side and He has given us His Triple A rating to fulfill our destiny and purpose. Hallelujah and Amen!
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Spirit of sonship or slavery
It is often we come to a point in our relationship with our Heavenly Father where we need to choose whether we serve Him out of a spirit of sonship or of a spirit of slavery.
We have been delivered from being Sin's slaves to become born again as sons and daughters of God.
But often we walk not in that knowledge but act and behave as if we are still under slavery.
When we serve in different ministries and use our gifts and talents in various services, do we serve with pleasure and willingness, out of a grateful heart or are we serving out of duty as servants/slaves only?
Yes, often we can begin to serve without much emotional desire or joy, but as we mature, we need to understand and grow to serve with the knowledge that our service pleases our Father because we do so willingly and joyfully.
Look at the example of the two brothers in Luke 15:11-32.
The younger son sinned and felt unworthy to be called a son. He returned (repented) but wanted to be called a servant/slave only. BUT what did the father do? He ran, threw his arms around his son and kissed him!
Wow! Our Heavenly Father still accepts and loves us though we sinned and; when we return, He embraces us and still calls us 'son'!
So let this knowledge sink in: "We are much loved because of our Lord Jesus" - hence let us serve with this immovable understanding that our Father knows us and loves us.
The older son - never strayed, always faithfully serving yet what of his heart? Was he serving with gratefulness and pleasure or is it in duty only? Look at what he says in Luke 15:29 "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders."
He was a faithful son yet he serve as a slave! See the father's reply in Luke 15:31: "`My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours."
Like this father, our Heavenly Father is well-pleased that we serve Him faithfully but let us guard against the attitude that we serve because we HAVE to and not because we WANT to. Let us come to the full realisation that our Father is ALWAYS with us and have gave us ALL we need to serve Him (not just resources but all the joy and strength we need to serve Him willingly and with pleasure!)
So which son are you? Are you feeling guilty and unworthy to serve? Are you feeling angry and unhappy that you serve?
Look to our Lord Jesus, our Elder Brother. He served His Father and our Father with joy and pleasure.
Let us do so every day with the Holy Spirit's help as sons and NOT slaves.
"Duty says I have done enough. But love asks can I do more?"
We have been delivered from being Sin's slaves to become born again as sons and daughters of God.
But often we walk not in that knowledge but act and behave as if we are still under slavery.
When we serve in different ministries and use our gifts and talents in various services, do we serve with pleasure and willingness, out of a grateful heart or are we serving out of duty as servants/slaves only?
Yes, often we can begin to serve without much emotional desire or joy, but as we mature, we need to understand and grow to serve with the knowledge that our service pleases our Father because we do so willingly and joyfully.
Look at the example of the two brothers in Luke 15:11-32.
The younger son sinned and felt unworthy to be called a son. He returned (repented) but wanted to be called a servant/slave only. BUT what did the father do? He ran, threw his arms around his son and kissed him!
Wow! Our Heavenly Father still accepts and loves us though we sinned and; when we return, He embraces us and still calls us 'son'!
So let this knowledge sink in: "We are much loved because of our Lord Jesus" - hence let us serve with this immovable understanding that our Father knows us and loves us.
The older son - never strayed, always faithfully serving yet what of his heart? Was he serving with gratefulness and pleasure or is it in duty only? Look at what he says in Luke 15:29 "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders."
He was a faithful son yet he serve as a slave! See the father's reply in Luke 15:31: "`My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours."
Like this father, our Heavenly Father is well-pleased that we serve Him faithfully but let us guard against the attitude that we serve because we HAVE to and not because we WANT to. Let us come to the full realisation that our Father is ALWAYS with us and have gave us ALL we need to serve Him (not just resources but all the joy and strength we need to serve Him willingly and with pleasure!)
So which son are you? Are you feeling guilty and unworthy to serve? Are you feeling angry and unhappy that you serve?
Look to our Lord Jesus, our Elder Brother. He served His Father and our Father with joy and pleasure.
Let us do so every day with the Holy Spirit's help as sons and NOT slaves.
"Duty says I have done enough. But love asks can I do more?"
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