Beauty of marriages

He made the first move in showing interest in me despite my weaknesses and failures. He took the initiative to express interest in making me His bride. He shed His blood to confirm His interest and love for me. And so I said, “I do”.

Since then, He has never left me. He’s always there to lead me, protect me and provide for me. Thus I know He is serious when He said that we will be together for eternity. And I look forward to the day when He personally comes again to bring me to His side.

Maybe that’s why I love weddings so much. Witnessing a man and a woman come into union as they exchange vows is such an assuring reminder of Christ eternal marriage covenant with us, His bride. It’s also an incredible joyous occasion where the reunion of many meaningful friendships takes place- a fore glimpse and taste of what it will be like when He comes again.

I’ve always wondered why weddings have such a special place in my heart. Now I clearly know why.

PS- To Gladys & Eugene, Jacob & Yap, Lu Chien & fiancé, thank you for inviting me to be part of your Big Day. It’s truly an honour & blessing. Can’t wait to see you guys in Dec!

Specially for the newlyweds

To be honest, I don’t have many sweet memories of growing up with my kor as he was quite a grumpy, hot-tempered boy, who didn’t like to smile. He was fierce and must always have things his way. And so, You Shen (my younger brother) and I never quite enjoy being around him. But, things slowly changed when he started studying in Perth, and changed even more after he met Deborah. He became a more caring and considerate person, as well as a protective and sociable brother- someone whom I became very proud of. It was a total 180 degrees positive change in his character and it was this change that slowly brought us closer together. We began opening up to one another, sharing our personal life stories and fun times together.

On the other hand, I remember getting to know Deborah at an Overseas Christian Fellowship camp about four years ago. We were roommates during camp and she was certainly one roommate I’ll never forget because I had never had a roommate who could sleep so much and so heavily like her. Every morning, she would have to wake up earlier than me for either music practice or breakfast duty, but somehow, I would always be the one who end up waking up earlier. Did she have an alarm clock? Yup…but it didn’t mater whether she had one or not. Not because she didn’t bother using it, but because she would sleep right through the alarm anyway or snooze it for uncountable times until I woke her up personally. I don’t think it bothered her at all her alarm clock was disturbing others as she was just too deep in her sleep.

But, although I knew she had an abnormal sleeping behaviour, I could see my kor falling for her, for she didn’t seem like a high maintenance girl who needs to go shopping every week. More importantly, she was a committed Christian who had and still has a soft and gentle personality, as well as a caring and considerate heart. And so, when my brother told me that he was going after Deborah, I was more delighted than surprised to hear that.

Ever since then, I’ve had the privilege to see them grow closer and deeper in their relationship with each other as time went by. I’ve seen them learn to like opposites interests so that they may share and experience the same things with one another. My brother has started learning how to eat spicy food, something which I know he would never have done if not for Deborah. Similarly, Deborah has learnt to like watching Australian footy because my brother enjoys it. I’ve also seen them learn how to celebrate in each other’s successes and carry each other’s burdens, which is a very encouraging thing to witness.

From friendship to courtship to loveship to marriage. No words can express how happy and relieved I am to be able to see them both finally married today.

Dearest kor and Deborah, today is a day you will always remember. A brand new beginning, the start of a new chapter in your life, with moments to cherish and treasure. Although there will be times when you both disagree, these will surely be outweighed by pleasures. So, live joyfully forever as lovers and friends, and as husband and wife. And with God’s grace, may your lives together be always blessed with the same kind of love, joy, excitement and hope He has given you today.

Happy Mother's Day

By the world’s standards, my mum is not a Supermom. She’s organized, keeps the house beautiful and tidy, but not always. You’ll find her frazzled and unorganized at times, especially when she’s got million and one things on her to-do list. She can leave the house with her blouse inside out, obvious dabs of face cream on her cheeks, or purse left on the kitchen table.

But, so what if mum’s not a Supermom who can multi-task efficiently? I love her anyway. Even if she can only succeed at doing a few things, I still love her. I love her not because she can do many/little things for me, but because she does all things with utmost love and care for me.

If I can make mistakes, have stuffed up, moody or even bad hair days, so can mum. How arrogant and egotistical I would be if I were to think that mum must always be a perfect model, setting perfect examples in life.

I love you, mum. And I always will.

Life's freedom

Freedom…a common thing we all long for in life. But what is freedom? Does it mean being able to do and say things, or choose whatever we want? A life without any restrictions or limits- is this really what freedom is all about? Somehow, the more I think about it, the more I disagree with that definition.

In our world, many live their lives without any boundaries. More often than not, such liberty eventually results in negative behaviours like bullying, drug abuse, drinking, and pornography. Very soon, these behaviours become a habitual thing, and the one who gets caught up with them are enslaved by them, for they find no ability to control their habits. When this happens, will we be able to honestly say that this is freedom?

Perhaps it is fair for me to say that in reality, human freedom is a very limited freedom. It can only lead us to become slaves to negative acts, feelings and behaviours- sin. Conversely, God’s freedom is the real freedom we yearn for. His truths illuminate the true meaning of free living and thus, keep us from sin’s destructive bondages.

The Bible says that we become slaves to whatever we give ourselves to (Romans 6:16). We can be slaves to God and be free from the bondage of sin, for the truth will set us free. Alternatively, we can be free from God and be slaves to the bondage of sin. This is a choice we each have to make. Which one will you choose?

Who are the really educated ones?

Compare a learned man to an uneducated one. The former is literate, cultured, rich in knowledge, and receives systematic education. The latter, on the other hand, has no privilege to education or whatsoever alike, maybe due to poverty; not trained in any universities or schools of learning, and could look uncivilized. Yet, why does it seem that the learned man is slower at understanding the things of God than the unlearned one?

Perhaps we, the learned ones, are putting too much trust in education. We think that education and knowledge is the key to solving all our problems, be it health-related, business-related, or social issues. Many even believe that education is the key ingredient to successful living, for it helps us gain wealth and fame, beauty and material things. But, in reality, we are actually educating ourselves further and further away from God.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not against education. I try to help kids understand that education is good and important so that they can be encouraged to learn. However, education alone cannot help us gain the real life of love, joy, peace, and freedom, which only Jesus can offer. Plus, we can be the most refined and knowledgeable people in the world, and yet be in fact foolish, if we choose to ignore His truths.

In the eyes of God, the "better-educated people" are perhaps the ones who grasp Him more easily and closely. They may be illiterate, uneducated, uncultured, or simply unsuccessful in the eyes of the world, but they are truly the wise, educated and successful ones because they know Him.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ~ Romans 1:21-22

Technically vs. Biblically

Technically, there is nothing wrong with watching 8 hours of TV during holidays.

Technically, there is nothing wrong going on a twosome escapade with your boyfriend/girlfriend.

Technically, there is nothing wrong with investing money in stock markets.

Technically, there is nothing wrong with an unmarried man and woman living together all by themselves in the same house.

Technically, there is nothing wrong with occasional smoking or gambling. It’s bad if you get addicted to them, but if it’s simply once in a blue moon, or a one-time thing, technically, there’s nothing wrong.

…and so the list can go on.

As God’s children, perhaps we should stop assessing our actions ‘technically’, and start assessing them ‘biblically’. For although ‘technically’ is meant to help us reason and assess according to facts, our facts may sometimes be wrong, thus unreliable. ‘Facts’ may look and sound, plus even feel right at times, but Satan may be deceiving us by distorting what we think is true and right. On the other hand, ‘biblical’ terms are always reliable since they are based on what God says. They also drive us to deeply consider our every action, thoughts and word; right to their very core- our motives, purpose and intent.

"Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others…So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" ~ 1 Cor 10:23-24; 31.

Can we truthfully say that watching 8 hours of TV or going on a twosome holiday is constructive? Can we honorably smoke or gamble for the glory of God? Can we in our good conscience ask God to bless our investment in stock markets? Have we considered our actions not only in relation to our self and God, but also in relation to their influences on the people around you- your family, friends, and public?

If our sincere desire is still to honor Him with our bodies, we need to be evaluating our lives biblically, and be truly honest (with God and ourselves) when doing so.

The friends of the paralytic man

I’ve read and heard about the story of Jesus healing the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) umpteen times, but for the very first time today, I saw the story from a different viewpoint, one which I never did before. Quite interestingly, it was the children in my classroom who helped me see this story anew. This happened as I was retelling the story to them.

At interval times, I would pause and ask the children to imagine themselves in the story- to visualize the feelings or thoughts of the paralytic man, four men and the crowd. Now, I’ve never imagined myself as one of the four men who brought the paralytic man to Jesus, but the kids were very good at it. And as they were sharing their thoughts and feelings, I began to see the love and amazing faith these four men had.

The Bible didn’t say whether these men were friends or relatives to the paralytic. Nevertheless, whether as a friend or relative, these men showed that they truly cared for the paralytic and had faith that Jesus would make him walk again. Having seen that there was no way they could get the paralytic to Jesus upon their arrival, due to the large crowd around the house, they could have just gone back and said “Let’s come back again another day”, or “Let's just forget it”.

Yet, they did not. They did not give up so easily. They went to the extreme by opening the roof of the house and lower their friend down slowly when it wasn’t even their house!! They were willing to bring his friend to Jesus at any cost.

At this point, it makes me kind of wonder if I demonstrate such faith and love towards my friends too. Do I do whatever it takes to bring my loved ones to Jesus? Sometimes I try to, but not always. I know that there are still times when I would rather be a passive Christian who need not do ‘weird’ things. Coz’ then I won’t have to fear rejection or risk being laughed at by people.

For this, I ask for Your forgiveness and grace to help me be a passionate follower of you, dear Lord.

Happy New Year

A new year, with new beginnings, fresh starts. My heart beats with excitement, anticipating to a brand new year of adventure. But, at the same time, it beats with fear; wondering if this year will be better than the last.

Perhaps I worry too much about the future, hence the fear. Perhaps I think too much into things; wondering how I would cross bridges before I even come to any of them. But sometimes, determining that delicate line between reasonable forethought and paralyzing forethought is simply tricky.

I don’t want to be like a foolish and aimless man, who gives no thoughts about the future. But, neither do I want to plan for it until I become controlled by it. So Lord, please grant me a spirit of sound mind and wisdom as I embark this new year. Enable me to live each day, fearing nothing except You. Teach me and help me learn how to daily live with Your power and love.

In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.