Raya holiday = Retreat week
2 planning retreat,
1 personal solitude.
God.... Meet me face to face...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Pursuing God
Pursuing God
The author longed for God in a dry and weary land where there is no water, something like a desert. If i am in where he is "dry and weary land with no water" I will seek water, not God. But instead of longing for water, he longed for God. He even had the mood to sing this psalm to God. If i were him.... i'll be busy thinking of water, praying to God for water.... not God....
If i were there I'll probably write this.... v1. O Lord, I need water, please.
the author was in such great need, physical need, BASIC NEEDS. Instead of seeking to fulfill his physical needs(water..... BASIC NEEDS) he seek for God. He knows God is more important than water.... more important than LIFE itself.... For God is the giver of life..... he knows it full well... and he TRUST in Him....
Today we have desert in our life too. Unlike the author's desert. Our desert maybe financial difficulties, career politics and so on. Our "water" comes in the form of money, food, security.
Just like the psalmist David. He came face to face with his needs and God, which one comes first?
He denied his needs, the water he needed to live. Instead of crying out " WATER, WATER, He said GOD I NEED YOU, COME"
And when we go through these desert, do we long for him or "water" first?
I'm not saying that we can just look at God then dun get "water". It is not a question of choosing one and forsaking another but it is a question of our PRIORITY i believe.
Psalms 63:1 & 8For me these verse are the psalmist's desperate cry. He was telling God how he longs for Him how thirsty he is for Him. These words are most often used by us, including me. These are common words in the bible. However the last two lines of v1 struck my heart - "...in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
" 1. O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water."
"8. my soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me."
The author longed for God in a dry and weary land where there is no water, something like a desert. If i am in where he is "dry and weary land with no water" I will seek water, not God. But instead of longing for water, he longed for God. He even had the mood to sing this psalm to God. If i were him.... i'll be busy thinking of water, praying to God for water.... not God....
If i were there I'll probably write this.... v1. O Lord, I need water, please.
the author was in such great need, physical need, BASIC NEEDS. Instead of seeking to fulfill his physical needs(water..... BASIC NEEDS) he seek for God. He knows God is more important than water.... more important than LIFE itself.... For God is the giver of life..... he knows it full well... and he TRUST in Him....
Today we have desert in our life too. Unlike the author's desert. Our desert maybe financial difficulties, career politics and so on. Our "water" comes in the form of money, food, security.
Just like the psalmist David. He came face to face with his needs and God, which one comes first?
He denied his needs, the water he needed to live. Instead of crying out " WATER, WATER, He said GOD I NEED YOU, COME"
And when we go through these desert, do we long for him or "water" first?
I'm not saying that we can just look at God then dun get "water". It is not a question of choosing one and forsaking another but it is a question of our PRIORITY i believe.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The Kingdom of God
Before i share my thoughts i would like you to take note that I'm not condemning the prayers for peace and religious freedom and I do not think it is anything wrong with praying for such things.
Many Malaysia Churches today are busy praying for political stability and religious freedom in Malaysia. But sometimes i do wonder the motive behind the our prayer. For God's Kingdom or for religious comfort?
Let me share a little on my findings about the early churches in the bible (correct me if I'm wrong). Early Churches were waiting eagerly for the second coming of Christ, since Jesus said he will be back. The Churches have this great idea that Jesus will come back and establish an Eternal kingdom and the believers will rule with Him. It is a glorious thing that any Christians at that time were waiting for. They were persevering because they know that great things are coming, JESUS will be back. talking about the second coming of Christ probably is a talk of HOPE, GOAL and GLORY. That is what the kingdom of God is to the early churches at that time. The message of "believe and repent for He will come AGAIN" is one of the must mention point that echoes throughout the NT. *whether the coming that they expect is political overtake of kingdom or not, as long as they are AWAITING for the 2nd coming of Jesus for it is the FINALE.*
Looking at it I realize that the Second coming of Christ is somewhat different to us today compared to the early churches. Due to the book of Revelations, we know that the 2nd coming of Christ is not accompanied by some majestic and glorious events but instead accompanied by a series of persecution and trials. Some so hard that we even doubt if we can survive and go through. Today the 2nd coming of Christ is synonym with TRIALS, SUFFERINGS and PERSECUTION. i know that some believe there will be rapture before the turbulence and believers need not suffer. But this is not what i want to bring to our attention so lets put that aside for now.
Compared to the Early Church days we are living in a very comfortable time. The days of the Early Churches were often or mostly accompanied by persecutions both from Jews and Gentiles. It was a hard time for all the believers. Persecution was so strong that many were martyred. Those days the 2nd coming of Christ is the only Hope of Christians and the moment that everyone is awaiting for it signifies the coming of the eternal Kingdom of God. Today We are living in the most comfortable age. We are not persecuted, we are given much freedom to do most things. Today 2nd coming of Christ to us is the time that most probably our comfort will be taken away, and persecution will be rampant. Instead of awaiting for the 2nd coming of Christ, we seem to fear the coming of Christ more. Even though we do not say it out loud but there is a difference in our attitude compared to the Early Church.
It is very much shown in our prayer. Today we pray a lot for revival, healing, events, religious freedom, political stability, peace of the nation and so on. It is all good prayers, nothing wrong with it. But I hardly came across a Church that will pray for Jesus' 2nd coming or we want to witness His second coming. The prayer for His Kingdom to come, His will be done is also a rare sight, or many times it is mentioned briefly at the end of our sophisticated prayers. Again, it is nothing wrong with the structure of the prayer and what was the prayer but it does lead me to seek my own heart and question my motives.
Sometimes i realize that i have this idea of what God's will is, it is such and such and such, then i pray according to it and add God's will be done in the end. Nothing wrong with it actually but it just make me wonder if God's will was the center of my interest or my will is. It is actually question that can only be answered each one of us personally and i believe it to be one that is important to tell our heart's condition. Jesus said in the bible "when you pray use this simple words" and he gave us the Lord's Prayer. It was so simple that we ourselves can hardly believe it can convince God. It was a prayer that started with acknowledging God and asking His kingdom to come.
Anyway praying for the 2nd coming or whether it is gonna be a new political kingdom or stuff like this is not the issue here. It is the awaiting heart for the 2nd coming. Honestly, how many of us today wish that Christ will come after you finish reading this post/article? I believe not many, even I don't wish to see Him so soon. I wish to see myself having a family and have my own kids and then grandchildren. I wish to see God use me greatly and bless many, I wish to live a life righteous and acceptable to God. MORE THAN i wish to see the 2nd coming of Christ. When Jesus come again it means that God's will is DONE as in FINALE. Everyone is gonna worship Him in the ETERNAL KINGDOM. No need to think about my future d... no more getting married.... my dreams, no more.... my dreams of being a great MAN of GOD no more... I wonder... am I ultimately living for him or myself?? Yes in the end i will still rejoice because His will be done. But if Jesus were to ask me if He should come tomorrow, I'll think twice before I say "YES! I WELCOME YOU!" and rather than with great joy and excitement I'll be quite sad and will ask for forgiveness and ask him to HELP ME TO LOVE HIM MORE... all the more I'm sure I can't look into his eyes with my own strength. He'll probably need to lift my head up and look into my eyes and tell me son it's OK.
Maybe you after reading this you will tell me :" Peter you cant expect us to be perfect. We are not that's why we need His grace. We can never achieve perfection." Yes it is true. Bear with me a little while and hear this story.
Well it is true that we cant be perfect. But we are called to be perfect and we have to clearly know that we have failed. We have to humbly confess that we have failed. Lets not be little Jack. But come before God and say... Yes i failed... that is what it was said in Matt 5:3. To be poor in our spirit to know we are nothing before God, we failed, and can only depend on Him. Then we will have the kingdom of heaven. It is God reign in our hearts, our lives.
Many Malaysia Churches today are busy praying for political stability and religious freedom in Malaysia. But sometimes i do wonder the motive behind the our prayer. For God's Kingdom or for religious comfort?
Let me share a little on my findings about the early churches in the bible (correct me if I'm wrong). Early Churches were waiting eagerly for the second coming of Christ, since Jesus said he will be back. The Churches have this great idea that Jesus will come back and establish an Eternal kingdom and the believers will rule with Him. It is a glorious thing that any Christians at that time were waiting for. They were persevering because they know that great things are coming, JESUS will be back. talking about the second coming of Christ probably is a talk of HOPE, GOAL and GLORY. That is what the kingdom of God is to the early churches at that time. The message of "believe and repent for He will come AGAIN" is one of the must mention point that echoes throughout the NT. *whether the coming that they expect is political overtake of kingdom or not, as long as they are AWAITING for the 2nd coming of Jesus for it is the FINALE.*
Looking at it I realize that the Second coming of Christ is somewhat different to us today compared to the early churches. Due to the book of Revelations, we know that the 2nd coming of Christ is not accompanied by some majestic and glorious events but instead accompanied by a series of persecution and trials. Some so hard that we even doubt if we can survive and go through. Today the 2nd coming of Christ is synonym with TRIALS, SUFFERINGS and PERSECUTION. i know that some believe there will be rapture before the turbulence and believers need not suffer. But this is not what i want to bring to our attention so lets put that aside for now.
Compared to the Early Church days we are living in a very comfortable time. The days of the Early Churches were often or mostly accompanied by persecutions both from Jews and Gentiles. It was a hard time for all the believers. Persecution was so strong that many were martyred. Those days the 2nd coming of Christ is the only Hope of Christians and the moment that everyone is awaiting for it signifies the coming of the eternal Kingdom of God. Today We are living in the most comfortable age. We are not persecuted, we are given much freedom to do most things. Today 2nd coming of Christ to us is the time that most probably our comfort will be taken away, and persecution will be rampant. Instead of awaiting for the 2nd coming of Christ, we seem to fear the coming of Christ more. Even though we do not say it out loud but there is a difference in our attitude compared to the Early Church.
It is very much shown in our prayer. Today we pray a lot for revival, healing, events, religious freedom, political stability, peace of the nation and so on. It is all good prayers, nothing wrong with it. But I hardly came across a Church that will pray for Jesus' 2nd coming or we want to witness His second coming. The prayer for His Kingdom to come, His will be done is also a rare sight, or many times it is mentioned briefly at the end of our sophisticated prayers. Again, it is nothing wrong with the structure of the prayer and what was the prayer but it does lead me to seek my own heart and question my motives.
Sometimes i realize that i have this idea of what God's will is, it is such and such and such, then i pray according to it and add God's will be done in the end. Nothing wrong with it actually but it just make me wonder if God's will was the center of my interest or my will is. It is actually question that can only be answered each one of us personally and i believe it to be one that is important to tell our heart's condition. Jesus said in the bible "when you pray use this simple words" and he gave us the Lord's Prayer. It was so simple that we ourselves can hardly believe it can convince God. It was a prayer that started with acknowledging God and asking His kingdom to come.
Anyway praying for the 2nd coming or whether it is gonna be a new political kingdom or stuff like this is not the issue here. It is the awaiting heart for the 2nd coming. Honestly, how many of us today wish that Christ will come after you finish reading this post/article? I believe not many, even I don't wish to see Him so soon. I wish to see myself having a family and have my own kids and then grandchildren. I wish to see God use me greatly and bless many, I wish to live a life righteous and acceptable to God. MORE THAN i wish to see the 2nd coming of Christ. When Jesus come again it means that God's will is DONE as in FINALE. Everyone is gonna worship Him in the ETERNAL KINGDOM. No need to think about my future d... no more getting married.... my dreams, no more.... my dreams of being a great MAN of GOD no more... I wonder... am I ultimately living for him or myself?? Yes in the end i will still rejoice because His will be done. But if Jesus were to ask me if He should come tomorrow, I'll think twice before I say "YES! I WELCOME YOU!" and rather than with great joy and excitement I'll be quite sad and will ask for forgiveness and ask him to HELP ME TO LOVE HIM MORE... all the more I'm sure I can't look into his eyes with my own strength. He'll probably need to lift my head up and look into my eyes and tell me son it's OK.
Maybe you after reading this you will tell me :" Peter you cant expect us to be perfect. We are not that's why we need His grace. We can never achieve perfection." Yes it is true. Bear with me a little while and hear this story.
One day, little Jack saw a big lollipop in the candy shop. But little Jack did not have enough money to buy it. He went home. One day when no one was at home, little Jack saw a $5 note that mummy left on the table. Since no one was around and Jack really wanted the lollipop, he took the money and he bought his dream lollipop. He went home and at the moment he got home, mummy came andmummy :"Jack, did you see my $5 note on the table?"
Jack: "ehh... No mummy."
Mummy : "Then where did you get the money to buy the lollipop?"
Jack : "Ok fine, I took it."
Mummy : " Jack, do you know what you did was wrong?"
Jack : "Oh mummy, Yes Yes, I know i was wrong to do it. But mummy you
must know that I am not PERFECT! you can't expect me to do all
things right."
Well it is true that we cant be perfect. But we are called to be perfect and we have to clearly know that we have failed. We have to humbly confess that we have failed. Lets not be little Jack. But come before God and say... Yes i failed... that is what it was said in Matt 5:3. To be poor in our spirit to know we are nothing before God, we failed, and can only depend on Him. Then we will have the kingdom of heaven. It is God reign in our hearts, our lives.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Prayer - our Dependance on God
Exactly a week ago, my university's christian fellowship organized a Evangelistic Night. I was the coordinator for that event. On Wednesday the day of the event when everything was settle and ready to go by night i was reminded that i forgot one thing - Prayer. I focused on everything else and I forgot the most important thing, pray. I was busy with planning and forgot that the success of the event will solely depend on God but on on my plannings, my effort. It is God who is the Lord of the event , it was HIS event. But I believe at some point it actually became MY event, without me noticing. Only to find this out during some little reflection after everything is ready. Prayer is a sign of dependence on God. When i can manage the event i totally forgot my dependence on God and therefore did not come before him in prayer concerning the event.
Then I came before God in prayer and confessed my pride and asked Him for His grace. I kept praying that afternoon, uttering my prayer softly everywhere I go. He taught me to depend on Him all the more when the weather got bad in evening. It was raining cats and dogs that evening. i was kind of worried that it will affect the attendance that night, especially non-christians. I arrived early with Nick and Michelle at about 6pm. We started praying for the event. For me, at every moment in prayer was like telling God :"Lord I'm depending on You. It is Your night not mine. Lord I'm depending on You."
Many were late that night, about 5 non-Christians came. After the sermon, Ps. Steven made an alter call. 7 raised their hands as an indication to accept Jesus as their Lord. I guess some of them are more like rededication but it was great because God's work it was. I was glad, very glad.
At the start of the meeting when i asked the people to pray in threes, one guy told me that he is not a christian so he dunno what to do when we pray. That night he walked out of the meeting as a Christian.Jesus, my Lord. I DEPEND ON YOU. As a Humans depend on oxygen, I DEPEND ON YOU. I want to and I will.
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