I was just thinking of submitting to Leaders in the light of Knowing the Father is totally incharge. Sometimes do i absolutely know The Father is in control even as a submit to Leaders? When i was speaking with Amos, he was sharing with me his reflections. Reflections on Life is unfair but God is good. On itself "Life is unfair" and "God is good" noone would dispute these statements. But its when Life is unfair how many people would be able to say God is good?
Same here its when i submit to the most difficult orders by Leaders, can i say God is incontrol, totally incharge? Defination of most difficult is one which puts me in a difficult position, makes me uncomfortable, creates pain, unable to obey even.
But Looking at John19:10-11. I know the context is slighly different. But if I'm able to say ' You have no power over me except what is given to you from above'. Really not in a haughty way. As for me, i somethimes feel that they are using their power or even rank to play me down. But if that was allowed, its not because they had power over me. But it is what was given to them from above. The Father is incontrol, totally incharge! So as only Father commands, i obey. Thus submitting to authorities have whole lot different meaning to me now.
For i know God is the builder and nothing can come in His way of work. And nothing to be frustrated about, for its not by my vain work or watchfulness but His might and wakefulness. Easier said than done?! Really whose doing the work??
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Celebrating the Family
First things first.
How can we celebrate the Family today?
By returning to God's command for the family
It is to honor your father and mother (Eph 6:1-3)
Commandments 1-4 deal with the area between the relationship of man & God.
Commandments 5-10 deals with the relationship between man to man.
Commandment 5, God wanted deal with relationship between Parents and children. It is interesting how God put relationship between Parents and children above all other relationship with man. Moreover its a commandment that comes in with a Promise. Indeed a key to Successful living.
When you say Family- What comes to your mind? Wife. Husband. Children. One house. Problems. Happiness. Pain. Joy. Parents. What?
The 1st thing that should come is the way we honor our Father and Mother.
How do we Honor our Father and Mother?
By respecting them
Honor means To treat with respect. Its about giving them a place of preferance or honor. A place where we can serve them. Its indeed a Challenging command. But God indended to encourage us with that promise. A promise of Long life.
A commandment when you obey, it will be a blessing. In business man term- A contract with return on investment! Its not easy but its a testimony of those who have honored their parents, healing and forgiveness flowed in. Why? It is because they returned to the Lord. When we obey, God blesses.
This Promise is conditional if only you obey. But also Look at Exodus21:17 & Proverbs30:17. There's a word of warning and a word of caution!
By inculding them
Honor is also to recognise the worth/ value. Its to recognise their worth and their value and to inculde them as part of the family. But in this society, cutting off parents is becoming a norm. World says Family is two thier. The parents and children. But for God family is three Thier. Grandparents, Parents, Children. It is because our God is a God of 3 generations. Therefore its all about inculding them.
Story of about a Girl's family.
During dinner, Seow mei's grandma eat until very messy. Everything was everywhere. So her father came up with an idea to put granny a table separate from them. That solved everything.
So one day, seow mei was playing and daddy came back. And asked her what she was doing? She was playing with lego stuff. And she said 'oh i'm making a separate table for mum and you. So that once you grow old, you can eat there. It was funny how the truth came. But that dinner, granny was inculded.
By receiving God's love for the Family
Turning to Eph1:4-6. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. It speaks about we are chosen to be His children. It was because of His grace, that we are chosen. Grace is receiving a blessing we dont deserve. We cant depend on our earthly relationships with our parents to point us to a relationship with God. For our relationships with our parents shape us in our relationship to others. And if we go along the flow of letting our relationship with our parents to point us to God, then a Degeneration of generations will begin. It will be like a downward spiral. But to stop this spiral: lets go to John1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even that believe on his name. To stop the downward spiral, the only hope is to be born again. The intervention is to prevent the degeneration of generations. Act16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. For this is the only hope, when God comes into the family.
Some say i honor my parents by not becoming a christian. Hear what you are saying! Let them go to hell then i become a christian.
In the past chinese worship one God. Interesting as it sounds doesnt it. Alot of cultures mimic the bible. There's alot of bibilcal truths behind certain of these cultures.
Lets Look at this word FU. To welcome wealth, Chinese people also love to have the word "fu"(福) (prosperity) everywhere. The Chinese translate prosperity as wealth.
The character "fu" is prophetic. Let us look at it . On the right side is yi kou(Above the window look word) (one family) and under it, the character tian(Looks like a window) (land). Having a family and land is fu, earthly fu. However, what is on the right side of the family and land?
The character is shen, meaning God. Chinese people know that they need God to watch over the family and land, if not they would not be able to hang on to their blessing.
And as turn it upside down the recognition the prosperity comes from God.
Prosperity its talking about montary wealth. Of course wealth is fu on earth, but it is more important to have fu in heaven, eternal fu. Wealth comes in many forms - wisdom, health and strong families. For Christians, we pursue eternal wealth that "moth and rust do not destroy and thieves cannot steal" (Matt 6:20).. We should heed the wisdom of real fu. Hang on to real prosperity. But for prosperity to come, God must be the builder of the house. Psalms127:1.
How can God come in? We need to acknowledge the heavenly father. Matthew18:2-5 And in vrs3 UNLESS YOU CHANGE like little children (strong words) going along with you will never. Its quite obvious God is calling to be like little children.
By REV Eugene Seow.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Master Builder, Grand Designer- Not in Pain, but in Plain Rest!
Not in Pain, but in Plain rest.
Vrse 2 [It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
This is where the word 'vain' appears again. Vain X3= Surely there's triple emphasis. And now i'm seeing that i'm doing some/all of these vain stuff stated in this vrse. Its Vain for you to rise up early, clearly not talking about you slothfully sleeping long hours. The statement behind that statement are why are you rising up early for? Worship the Lord? Righteous men in the Scripture- Moses, Joshua, Abraham, for instance- got up early, but they were not racing frantically to catch the six o'clock train. When they got up in the morning they worshipped. To sit up late: Is it building up the Kingdom of God or burning the midnight oil or what meaningful stuff are we involved in sitting up late? To eat the bread of sorrows? The word bread is used figuratively in such expressions as "bread of sorrows" (Ps. 127:2), "bread of tears" (80:5), i.e., sorrow and tears are like one's daily bread, they form so great a part in life.
One translation of Psalm 127:2 reads, "He gives to His beloved even in his sleep" (NASB). I believe there's something wonderfully significant in this verse- something easily missed unless we understand that Israel's day began in the evening, not in the morning as it does for us. Israel's sequence of evening and morning is significant, I believe, because it pictures the attitude we should embrace in all our efforts. It's useless to drive ourselves in anxious frenzy, "to rise up early, to sit up late" (127:2), as if success depended solely on our efforts. Our days should begin by resting in God's infinite ability.We must work hard and be faithful in all we do, but we must also realize that everything depends on God. When we begin our work, we join God in what He is already doing.
For so he giveth his beloved sleep. What does 'For so' mean- It means Because of, or having to know its vain to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat bread of sorrows. 'For so he giveth' meaning- For so God in His wisdom knowing that its vain to go through those things, 'he giveth' meaning He provides. Its like God saying "I know all the pain you are going through! Why do you keep yourself so busy? My love, dont go through with it any longer. So trust in me and i'll give you rest!"
And 'his Beloved' sounds like people who are the chosen ones. You wont say my beloved to every other people! Those people who puts their faith in Him, for they whom He have chosen. That is why he uses the word, "beloved," which was Solomon's original name, Jedidiah ("the beloved one"). The king is saying that the best gifts he received in life were those he got while he slept, not those he toiled and labored for. Solomon acquired wisdom as he slept. Fulfillment comes when we get life's greatest assets as a gift.
In verse one and two has an Instructional element combined with an Invitational touch to it. Instructions that leads you away from Frustration and invites you to fulfillment. Whereby there's a sense of renewed hope, and re-energized.So the great gifts of God come to us while we sleep. That is why the ultimate expression of trust in the psalms is sleeping.When we sleep we cease our labors, both of deed and of mind completely, and enter that quiet state when we can receive what the Lord wants to give to us.
Christ never asks of us such busy labor That leaves no time for resting at His feet;The waiting attitude of expectation He often counts a service most complete. -Anon.
Do thy duty, that is best; leave unto the Lord the rest. -Longfellow
Vrse 2 [It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
This is where the word 'vain' appears again. Vain X3= Surely there's triple emphasis. And now i'm seeing that i'm doing some/all of these vain stuff stated in this vrse. Its Vain for you to rise up early, clearly not talking about you slothfully sleeping long hours. The statement behind that statement are why are you rising up early for? Worship the Lord? Righteous men in the Scripture- Moses, Joshua, Abraham, for instance- got up early, but they were not racing frantically to catch the six o'clock train. When they got up in the morning they worshipped. To sit up late: Is it building up the Kingdom of God or burning the midnight oil or what meaningful stuff are we involved in sitting up late? To eat the bread of sorrows? The word bread is used figuratively in such expressions as "bread of sorrows" (Ps. 127:2), "bread of tears" (80:5), i.e., sorrow and tears are like one's daily bread, they form so great a part in life.
One translation of Psalm 127:2 reads, "He gives to His beloved even in his sleep" (NASB). I believe there's something wonderfully significant in this verse- something easily missed unless we understand that Israel's day began in the evening, not in the morning as it does for us. Israel's sequence of evening and morning is significant, I believe, because it pictures the attitude we should embrace in all our efforts. It's useless to drive ourselves in anxious frenzy, "to rise up early, to sit up late" (127:2), as if success depended solely on our efforts. Our days should begin by resting in God's infinite ability.We must work hard and be faithful in all we do, but we must also realize that everything depends on God. When we begin our work, we join God in what He is already doing.
For so he giveth his beloved sleep. What does 'For so' mean- It means Because of, or having to know its vain to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat bread of sorrows. 'For so he giveth' meaning- For so God in His wisdom knowing that its vain to go through those things, 'he giveth' meaning He provides. Its like God saying "I know all the pain you are going through! Why do you keep yourself so busy? My love, dont go through with it any longer. So trust in me and i'll give you rest!"
And 'his Beloved' sounds like people who are the chosen ones. You wont say my beloved to every other people! Those people who puts their faith in Him, for they whom He have chosen. That is why he uses the word, "beloved," which was Solomon's original name, Jedidiah ("the beloved one"). The king is saying that the best gifts he received in life were those he got while he slept, not those he toiled and labored for. Solomon acquired wisdom as he slept. Fulfillment comes when we get life's greatest assets as a gift.
In verse one and two has an Instructional element combined with an Invitational touch to it. Instructions that leads you away from Frustration and invites you to fulfillment. Whereby there's a sense of renewed hope, and re-energized.So the great gifts of God come to us while we sleep. That is why the ultimate expression of trust in the psalms is sleeping.When we sleep we cease our labors, both of deed and of mind completely, and enter that quiet state when we can receive what the Lord wants to give to us.
Christ never asks of us such busy labor That leaves no time for resting at His feet;The waiting attitude of expectation He often counts a service most complete. -Anon.
Do thy duty, that is best; leave unto the Lord the rest. -Longfellow
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Master Builder, Grand Designer- Not in vain, You gain!
Not In Vain, You gain!
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain. (Vrse 1)
'Except the LORD' and 'in vain' appears twice. The emphasis and contrast is pretty obvious. Except the LORD- signifies: Noone else, Only Him. And who are they?- its talking about the human builders. Except the LORD build the house, the builder's labour is in vain. What does 'in vain' means: To no avail; without success. Not yielding the desired outcome; fruitless. Excessively proud of one's appearance or accomplishments; conceited. Empty pleasures.
So if The LORD build the house, they labour in (Antonyms of vain) is effective, fruitful, meaningful, productive, satisfactory, sufficient.
It shows that Without God, we are nothing!
When Solomon resolved to build a house for the LORD, matters were very different, for all things united under God to aid him in his great undertaking: even the heathen were at his beck and call that he might erect a temple for the LORD his God.
The greatest building project of the ancient world was the Tower of Babel. It had wonderful organization, resources, vision, clarity of purpose, and tenacity, but it ended in total disaster. We are still trying to recover from its effects.The babel builders labour was in vain, for the Lord's face was turned against them. I feel this part of the verse invites me to Rest in His strenght rather that spend my strenght for nought!
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain. It like the opposite is so true: The LORD keep the city, even if the watchman sleeping its safe. We are not safe because of watchmen if Jehovah refuses to watch over us. The alert Watcher is better than an army of sleepless guards.
Note that the Psalmist does not bid the builder cease from labouring, nor suggest that watchmen should neglect their duty, nor that men should show their trust in God by doing nothing. But do as always, but not fix our trust in our own efforts/ work. Rather efforts/work is in vain unless God's power comes through.
Sometimes we get frustrated after doing much and our efforts account to nothing. Its a feeling that comes when we know we are putting much effort but nothing seem to come out of it. Frustration can be the result when God is not the builder nor watcher. Are we living lives dependant on our Creator or our Created energy? Isnt it so obvious how many times we fall in the trap of asking ' I'm doing all i can! LORD, why isnt it working?' instead of ' LORD, are you building/watching over what i'm involved in? Show me what you are building/ watching!' The point is, if God is not involved in what you are building, creating and preserving, your efforts will be void of results. For its proven useless for without the LORD he has accomplished nothing, and his wakefulness has not warded off evil.
Solomon knows that the Lord is the ultimate builder. As the Lord and the designer of history, God will tear down the works of the wicked and he will build his own kingdom.
Many people in passing do not notice the difference between Lord and lord in the Bible. However, this difference is very important.LORD in the Bible refers to the divine, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent creator of the universe. Using the term Lord is a show of reverence and respect to God.
Lord in the Bible refers to someone that is a master of a household or in a position of authority. Calling someone lord is a display of respect for that person's position.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain. (Vrse 1)
'Except the LORD' and 'in vain' appears twice. The emphasis and contrast is pretty obvious. Except the LORD- signifies: Noone else, Only Him. And who are they?- its talking about the human builders. Except the LORD build the house, the builder's labour is in vain. What does 'in vain' means: To no avail; without success. Not yielding the desired outcome; fruitless. Excessively proud of one's appearance or accomplishments; conceited. Empty pleasures.
So if The LORD build the house, they labour in (Antonyms of vain) is effective, fruitful, meaningful, productive, satisfactory, sufficient.
It shows that Without God, we are nothing!
When Solomon resolved to build a house for the LORD, matters were very different, for all things united under God to aid him in his great undertaking: even the heathen were at his beck and call that he might erect a temple for the LORD his God.
The greatest building project of the ancient world was the Tower of Babel. It had wonderful organization, resources, vision, clarity of purpose, and tenacity, but it ended in total disaster. We are still trying to recover from its effects.The babel builders labour was in vain, for the Lord's face was turned against them. I feel this part of the verse invites me to Rest in His strenght rather that spend my strenght for nought!
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain. It like the opposite is so true: The LORD keep the city, even if the watchman sleeping its safe. We are not safe because of watchmen if Jehovah refuses to watch over us. The alert Watcher is better than an army of sleepless guards.
Note that the Psalmist does not bid the builder cease from labouring, nor suggest that watchmen should neglect their duty, nor that men should show their trust in God by doing nothing. But do as always, but not fix our trust in our own efforts/ work. Rather efforts/work is in vain unless God's power comes through.
Sometimes we get frustrated after doing much and our efforts account to nothing. Its a feeling that comes when we know we are putting much effort but nothing seem to come out of it. Frustration can be the result when God is not the builder nor watcher. Are we living lives dependant on our Creator or our Created energy? Isnt it so obvious how many times we fall in the trap of asking ' I'm doing all i can! LORD, why isnt it working?' instead of ' LORD, are you building/watching over what i'm involved in? Show me what you are building/ watching!' The point is, if God is not involved in what you are building, creating and preserving, your efforts will be void of results. For its proven useless for without the LORD he has accomplished nothing, and his wakefulness has not warded off evil.
Solomon knows that the Lord is the ultimate builder. As the Lord and the designer of history, God will tear down the works of the wicked and he will build his own kingdom.
Many people in passing do not notice the difference between Lord and lord in the Bible. However, this difference is very important.LORD in the Bible refers to the divine, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent creator of the universe. Using the term Lord is a show of reverence and respect to God.
Lord in the Bible refers to someone that is a master of a household or in a position of authority. Calling someone lord is a display of respect for that person's position.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Kingdom of God is a Family Celebration.
God gave me this Psalms on 23/10/05. The background of receiving this psalms was a result of praying for a strategy to reach-out to indians. But more and more i felt God is using this psalms to speak into my life. So i went to research on the background of this Psalms127.
Psalms Chapter 127 (King James Version)
A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.2 [It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.4 As arrows [are] in the hand of a mighty man; so [are] children of the youth.5 Happy [is] the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
As a result of my research:
The book of Psalms is a collected number of psalms that were put together over a period of over three hundred years. Among the 150 psalms are included several pairs, they're what we call trilogies or triads and series that go together. The largest of the Psalms, 120-134, together there are fifteen Psalms of degree. The Psalms of degree are a section of the Psalms specifically for instruction on the meaning and the keeping of the fall holy days. They are a treasure trove of spiritual teachings, expounding how to keep a spiritual Feast. These were Festival intructions. Festival ties in with Celebration. Party! Someone collected these separate songs into small collections based on authorship or theme. Thematic collections include psalms 120-134, the so-called "songs of ascents" and psalms 146-150, the "hallelujah" songs.
The collection of psalms that Psalm127 fits into, has a festive theme. And isnt that exciting. As the theme of FCBC this year is 'The Kingdom of God is a Party'! Celebration!!! Festive mode, man. This means so much to me. The emphasize on this Psalm, tied in together with Psalms128 is that it is a 'Family Feast'.
Psalms Chapter 127 (King James Version)
A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.2 [It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.4 As arrows [are] in the hand of a mighty man; so [are] children of the youth.5 Happy [is] the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
As a result of my research:
The book of Psalms is a collected number of psalms that were put together over a period of over three hundred years. Among the 150 psalms are included several pairs, they're what we call trilogies or triads and series that go together. The largest of the Psalms, 120-134, together there are fifteen Psalms of degree. The Psalms of degree are a section of the Psalms specifically for instruction on the meaning and the keeping of the fall holy days. They are a treasure trove of spiritual teachings, expounding how to keep a spiritual Feast. These were Festival intructions. Festival ties in with Celebration. Party! Someone collected these separate songs into small collections based on authorship or theme. Thematic collections include psalms 120-134, the so-called "songs of ascents" and psalms 146-150, the "hallelujah" songs.
The collection of psalms that Psalm127 fits into, has a festive theme. And isnt that exciting. As the theme of FCBC this year is 'The Kingdom of God is a Party'! Celebration!!! Festive mode, man. This means so much to me. The emphasize on this Psalm, tied in together with Psalms128 is that it is a 'Family Feast'.
And so i'll do a study on Psalms127.
mY refERences.
http://www.pbc.org/dp/morgan/3905.html
http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps127.htm
http://www.ucg.org/sermons/transcripts/psalmsdegrees.htm
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
A Command to Celebration !!
There's a place that I love to run and play.
There's a place that I sing new songs of praise
Dancin' with my Father God in fields of grace
There's a place that I lose myself within
There's a place that I find myself again
Dancin' with my Father God in fields of grace
There's a place where religion finally dies
There's a place that I lose my selfish pride
Dancin' with my Father God in fields of grace
I love my Father, my Father loves me
I dance for my Father, my Father sings over me
And nothing nothing nothing can take that away from me
Artist:Big Daddy Weave
Album:Fields Of Grace
Song:Fields Of Grace
There's a place that I sing new songs of praise
Dancin' with my Father God in fields of grace
There's a place that I lose myself within
There's a place that I find myself again
Dancin' with my Father God in fields of grace
There's a place where religion finally dies
There's a place that I lose my selfish pride
Dancin' with my Father God in fields of grace
I love my Father, my Father loves me
I dance for my Father, my Father sings over me
And nothing nothing nothing can take that away from me
Artist:Big Daddy Weave
Album:Fields Of Grace
Song:Fields Of Grace
CHRISTMAS not X-MAS
This day set apart to celebrate God's birthday. Jesus is born.
When i say Its Christmas- What comes to your mind?
Holiday.Parties.Beer.Enjoy.Play.Yeah.Clubbing.Hang out.Gatherings.Love.Gifts.Old friends.Girls.Nothing much.Santa.More Gifts.Festive.People.Fun.Feast.Turkey.Christians. Carolling.Orchard crowded.Countdown.Alcohol.Jingle bells.More friends.Cakes.Time with family.No duty please.Forgiveness.Elves.Magical.Boring.Look Good.Christmas Mood. Happy.Cards.Christmas Songs.Christmas Tree.3 wise man.Something about Jesus. Celebration.Late nights.Happening.Charitable.Fatty Food.Movies.Chill out.Zouk out.I'm out!
Joke: What did Adam tell Eve the day before Christmas?
Its CHRISTMAS, Eve! (There was No christmas back at their time!)
What then is Christmas? What is the significance?
Christ is born!
When i say Its Christmas- What comes to your mind?
Holiday.Parties.Beer.Enjoy.Play.Yeah.Clubbing.Hang out.Gatherings.Love.Gifts.Old friends.Girls.Nothing much.Santa.More Gifts.Festive.People.Fun.Feast.Turkey.Christians. Carolling.Orchard crowded.Countdown.Alcohol.Jingle bells.More friends.Cakes.Time with family.No duty please.Forgiveness.Elves.Magical.Boring.Look Good.Christmas Mood. Happy.Cards.Christmas Songs.Christmas Tree.3 wise man.Something about Jesus. Celebration.Late nights.Happening.Charitable.Fatty Food.Movies.Chill out.Zouk out.I'm out!
Joke: What did Adam tell Eve the day before Christmas?
Its CHRISTMAS, Eve! (There was No christmas back at their time!)
What then is Christmas? What is the significance?
Christ is born!
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