Your Love Never Fails

1 Corinthians 13:13 -- Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.

Righteousness

There's no better way to write this. Awesome post by Clarence Cheong http://bright-studio.blogspot.com/2011/01/misconception-101.html

Jealous

Ever heard of the statement that God is a jealous God? What is He jealous for? He's God and He owns everything, so why is he still jealous?

The word 'jealous' rhymes with 'zealous'. Zeal is the highest form of passion and love, the extreme kind that would go any length for the object of love. And jealous, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is (1) intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness, or disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness, (2) hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage, and (3) vigilant in guarding a possession.

What is God intolerant about? Why is He hostile and wrathful? What is the possession that He is guarding?

God is jealous for you. He's not jealous of you; He's jealous FOR you. He is intolerant about your sin, hostile and wrathful towards Satan, and He is constantly in vigilance to guard you as His very own possession. This is the highest zeal. This is how much God loves you and me.

It's two sides of a coin: God loves you and He hates your sin. He doesn't hate you, but He hates sin and He loves you. Why does He hate sin? Because that's what will destroy you and He doesn't want that to happen; He is intolerant of Satan who snatches you away, hostile toward him who enjoys destroying your life, and vigilant in guarding you as His precious one -- all because of ... LOVE.

Our parents are quite capable of protecting us this way. They nag us, advise us, urge us, warn us, scold us, and (when we were young and naughty) cane us. They will do all they can and everything they know to protect us, yet sometimes they are over protective and we become even more rebellious. That's because they really love us, even though the way they express it may not be perfect and right sometimes.

But God's perfect love is not limited like how our parents are. While our parents are limited in their resources and solutions, God isn't limited. He is the solution to our unfaithfulness and rebellion. His solution to our sin is to give His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross. His love is fully manifested in this: that while we did not know Him, while we sinned against Him, while we rebelled against Him, while we were destroyed by our sin, He loved us even though we were unlovable. Romans 5:8 -- But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Zeal is passion, and passion means sacrifice. For what cause? That we will one day be united with Him again in heaven and in His presence be completely satisfied with the fullness of joy. Does this challenge your mind to ask why? (like, "Why do we need to enjoy His presence? Why heaven?") Because the alternative is a place of eternal destruction and suffering. Hell is what God is guarding you against, knowing that He created you, and you belong to Him. You are the object of His love, passion and zeal.

God loves you.

Words to Remember:

1 John 4:9, 18-19 -- In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

There's No Gender in Heaven

Did you know that there's no gender in heaven? Where in the Bible does it say so?

Well, actually, there's no verse in the Bible that say so. (Gotcha!) Then what is the basis of this statement?

When God created the heavens and the earth and all the living things in the world, he created man. In Genesis 1:27-28 it reads: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God created male and female and the purpose is for them to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing.

Notice, God created male and female, not only male or only female. He created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Why? Because this is the purpose of gender: for reproduction and procreation, so that with the authority given humans, we rule over all other living things; we are the caretakers of the earth.

But when we go to heaven, there is no need for reproduction and procreation. The citizens of heaven are us, who have already passed through life on earth, passed through being caretakers of the earth. In heaven we will still reign and rule with God, but ruling over planets, over spiritual regions that we have no way to imagine right now due to our earthly limitations. And by the way, when we go to heaven, we leave our mortal bodies behind (unless you are raptured); when we die, our spirit goes to heaven and we finally are able to relate with God and all the heavenly beings with our spirit, free of the limitations of our body. (Terms and condition apply: You need to believe in Jesus for the passport to heaven.)

"You mean we won't have sex in heaven?" Yea, precisely. "But why? I thought sex is created by God and it's good!" Yes, sex is created by God and it is good. (Terms and condition apply: sex between a husband and a wife in a marriage relationship is good and intended by God.) And I'm sure all those out there who are married will agree with me to say that sex gives you the satisfaction and completeness in your relationship as husband and wife. Super highlight and underline many times the word 'satisfied'. That's because sex is the highest expression of intimacy between a husband and wife. But you know, in heaven, when you're in the immediate presence of God, you are completely and perfectly and wholly satisfied by Him, the Bridegroom.

Picture this: A woman who is in courtship with a man, has kept herself pure, reserving her body for the day when she's finally wedded with her husband. And likewise, her man has kept himself pure, to the point of denying his sexual drives and restraining himself, just to save his body for his beloved wife. And on the wedding night, when they finally unveil themselves to each other, aren't they completely satisfied? Yes, completely indeed. But when we are finally united with Christ forever, we are not just completely satisfied; we are perfectly and wholly satisfied, because He is perfect, flawless, and we too, are changed in His glory to be perfect.

People say sexuality is a choice. Some people choose to be in-betweens because they feel like they are trapped in the wrong body. But let me tell you, there are no in-betweens. God never created in-betweens. That's a deception and the biggest lie from the devil. And there are even more people who say, "Oh, but homosexuality is such a normal thing nowadays. Why should we give two hoots about it? There are places who make gay and lesbian marriage legal." But where does it say that what's normal is right? It's pretty normal to hear murder cases and crime every day, but does it make it right to kill and steal? It's pretty normal to know people exploit and manipulate others and make themselves superior over others, but does it make it right?

Beloved fellow creations of God, Philippians 3:20-21 says "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." So if you think you're in the wrong body, this is the answer for you: There is no gender in heaven. In heaven you will not have this confusion and frustration. You will no longer be deceived. Our lowly bodies will be transformed and conformed to His glorious body.

But that's step 2. Step 1: you've got to believe in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you're reading this and you feel offended, I will not apologise; but rather, let me tell you why you feel offended. It's because this is the truth. Why is the truth offensive? Because it challenges all that you think you know and all that you thought was right. It echoes the deepest cry of your heart for a solution, but that deepest part of you have been numbed and buried by mountains of lies and deception. You know what is deception? It's when you thought what you know was right, but actually it was wrong. And you know what true freedom is? It's when truth meets you and set your mind free from deception.

I'm not writing this to condemn anyone; rather, I'm giving you grace to meet with Jesus and be set free. Let His amazing love encounter you.

Words to Remember:

John 14:6 -- Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

There's no cheese cake

After all that's been said and done, it has to come down to this.
And you and I know it very well.
If it's going to be everything or nothing at all,
then the only choice I can make is nothing at all.
There's no cheese cake.
Because I'm not a piece of cake that you can eat.
If there's one thing that I can ask of you,
would you open your heart and open up my gift for you?
If you'd hear His voice speaking to you, don't harden your heart.
I hope you're reading this, because only you will understand.
Remember, I think the best of you.

The Journey of Faith (1)

When it comes to this, I guess everyone knows that Abraham was considered a father of faith. He's always associated with his journey of faith, how he trusted God for the miracle son Isaac, and how by faith he was counted righteous.

Note: Abraham was accounted righteous not because he was perfect in following the instructions of the Lord. Nor was he flawless and without mistake in his journey of trusting God and figuring out the call of God in his life. Nor was it because of something that he did that he was accounted righteous. He was accounted righteous because he placed his faith on God.

Do you know why faith is a journey? Because a lot of times we don't see something coming to pass with our natural eyes and in our own understanding. A lot of things that God has spoken to us and promises that He has given seem unlikely to happen. Or because we try to help God to fulfil His promises. Or because we value the blessing that God has given previously more than believing in the Blesser who can bless us even greater. It's a journey of faith because it is learned over time, sometimes even painstakingly.

When the Lord first spoke to Abraham about his calling to become a father of nations, he did not have a child. The Lord told him to get out of his own country to a land that He will show him and He will make Abraham a great nation, blessing him to become a blessing to the earth. God actually wanted Abraham and his wife alone to fulfil this great promise, but Abraham brought a long his father and his nephew Lot.

Perhaps Abraham thought that his father was able to give him sound advices because of his age, and obviously Abraham respected his father and loved him. If put in today's context, we look up to our spiritual leaders, giving them the highest regard and respect because of their calling and the good advices they have given to us. We are affectionate with them because they have laid down their lives to love us and shepherd us as their flock. But many times, we take them as an easy way out to experience God, rather than experiencing God first hand.

I recognise that there is a stage in a Christian's walk of faith to rely on spiritual leaders to feed them with the Word and to teach them spiritual truths, and we continue to feed on the 'pasture' that our spiritual leaders feed us with, especially what our pastors preach on Sunday. However, it is our individual responsibility to see ourselves grow to a point that we know we cannot keep relying on them to feed us. Just like our mothers stop feeding us milk and move on to solid food, and then move on to having us find food for ourselves, spiritual leaders are there not to cradle us whole life, but to point us to Jesus. At some point of my journey of faith, I've come to realise that I can't be a baby relying on my spiritual leaders anymore. I can't treat them like a teddy bear to hug and hang on to when I'm going through a bad time. I can't treat them like a prayer vending machine. Because I've realised no matter how much I'd love to talk about my situation and try to get their analysis, advices and their sympathy, and finally a prayer, it's up to me to sort things out. It's up to me to make the right decisions and do the right things to resolve the situation. It's up to me to seek God for help, because ultimately He is the solution and the answer to all our challenges.

So I have made this decision: I will seek You, Lord. When I call, You will answer, because that is what Your word says. I will experience You first hand and not through a second revelation. There is a place for spiritual leaders to step in and to give us Godly advices, but if You mean me to become a spiritual leader myself one day, then I ought to grow up. I ought to give up looking to my spiritual leader for solutions and advices. If I really believe that God, You are my answer to every situation and the solution to every challenge, then why can't I believe that You will tell me what to do? I will look to You, the beginner and the finisher of my faith.

I'm not saying going to your spiritual leaders is wrong or bad; I'm just saying if the Lord meant us to grow and become disciples that will take nations, we've got to start feeding from the right source. If we truly believe that Jesus is the answer to the world, then we ought to experience Him first hand as the answer to our problems and challenges. If we truly believe all that we are singing about "everything I need is You", then we need to stop looking to human solutions and human wisdom, and start looking at Jesus and His heavenly wisdom. If we would ever receive a revelation, it has to come directly from Him.

Human methods and solutions will only meet earthly needs; spiritual needs requires spiritual solutions that is found only in the One who saves. Let's begin this journey of faith, of trusting our God is really, truly, undoubtedly, all we need.

Worship

It's my first worship practice of the year. Coming together with the team is always awesome. More than the music, more than playing together, more than anything else it's about the heart of worship. Worship is not music, and good music doesn't translate into good worship. I'd like to say humbly that I'm still learning this, and the truths that I have learned to be reminded constantly.

There is so much to worship. The greatest worshipers are not the people who stand on stage every week leading the congregation into worship. It's not the most professional musicians, not the most anointed worship leader, not the best vocalist. The greatest worshipers are Christians whose hearts are after God. And everything else we do flows from this heart of worship, and it has to; it's a must, because if we don't do it out of our worship and love for God, it is just religion -- man's self effort to reach God.

A lot of times we give a lot of 'taglines' and try to encourage one another to be united in heart, to pray more, to be in right attitude, to do this, do that, etc etc, but change will only come for the individual who allows the love of God to saturate and fill him.

James 3:13-17 says that the wisdom that births forth from bitter envy and self-seeking ambitions is earthly, sensual and demonic; but wisdom that is from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. These verses have spoken to me many times and continues to speak more and more each time, deeper each time. When we have our own agendas, selfish ambitions and our focus and reasons of doing ministry is not about God and only God, we are using our own strength, wisdom and resources to do spiritual things. But you can only do spiritual things using spiritual wisdom -- which is from above. And notice the qualities of the wisdom from above? It's all qualities that comes from the heart. It doesn't say about qualities that develop from diligence or discipline or human efforts. They are the fruit from being connected with God and staying connected.

Otherwise, how are you going to be willing to yield all the time? Would you yield to someone who is hostile and want his way all the time? Will you be willing to humble yourself? How are you going to be impartial to everyone? Surely you like some people more than others. What does it mean to be pure and to keep ourselves pure? In this age of media, popular culture is the norm, but what is norm doesn't mean it's right. How do you keep yourself pure without being ignorant? And how are we ever without hypocrisy? How many times have we come to contradict ourselves and set double standards on others? How will we ever have this wisdom that is from above if it's not because God gave us the grace to receive them? Grace to the undeserved -- us.

Time is not our friend. I don't know about you, but I always feel that years come by and pass faster and faster every year, and every year we tell ourselves that we ought to do more of this and more of that, we should achieve this and that by when. Well, if you've talking about losing weight and setting a target to reach your desired weight by a certain time, you can make a goal like that. But many times, I realised that it's almost impossible to tell yourself that you'd like to reach a certain stage in your spiritual ministry. If you have reached there by setting a goal and worked towards it, I congratulate you. But as for me, I realised that it's not just a resolution, not just a commitment, not just a song that says "I surrender all to You", not something that you can 'work' towards; it's a covenant between God and you that says that "I know I can't do it Lord, and I really need You, let Your grace help me." It's a covenant that doesn't back out even when things don't seem to go the way we want. It's a covenant that doesn't need your qualification or ability, but one that is purely by His grace. It's a covenant that doesn't have place for a plan B, but of unrelenting faith and trust on the One who will fulfil His promise. (After all, it's His promise, so what are we worrying about?)

Lord, bring us back to the heart of worship where it's all about You, and none about us.

So Small

Sometimes the mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand. In Your eyes, God, it really is. Everything we need is You, it's Your love, Your grace; You are the answer. Everything that we are going through is no biggie for You. And I thank You, that You are bigger and stronger.

2011

And so, we ended 2010.

Last night / this morning's Thanksgiving and Rededication Service was totally awesome, praising God for all that He has given and done in our lives as individuals and as a church. Indeed, we've seen so much progress and so much fruit this year that can say we've stepped into the realm of multiplication. We've prayed and confessed and claimed growth and multiplication for many years, and here's the fruit we are experiencing and seeing -- and we rejoice to the MAX! Souls saved by more than double, lives rededicated to Christ, church finance increased and accruals almost disappeared! Hallelujah!

And the best part is the video (thanks to Bong Yang, Denion, Jetaime and others, really good job!) where the Great Commission and Great Commandment is made so clear -- win all, train all and send all; worship and ministry hand-in-hand. It was really awesome -- not on the quality of the video in terms of technical and editing skills, but the content and the depth of the understanding of what we practice as a church -- it was beyond words could describe. I looked at Ps. David, our beloved senior pastor, and I understood that this is his reward, this joy and sense of achievement that no amount of money can buy, no other earthly career or vocation can satisfy.

Let's do this again this year, and even more. Greater things are to come; it has become almost a tagline, but one that we all know will come to pass, and are putting all our hope on God. For we are not long here, our life is just a breath, so we better breathe it and know that we are made for love, to love, and to be loved.

Love never fails.