Realignment

I used to set myself a time frame that I would watch a movie to realign myself with God. That time frame was six months, and the purpose is because I know we being humans, tend to _take things for granted too easily_.

It had been very long since I last passed that six month time frame. My guess is more than year in fact. I wanted to set time away just for this movie and today seemed like the perfect day for it.

The movie, if you had not guessed it already, is "The Passion of the Christ".

I just want to gather my thoughts and place them in proper into one post because I am truly, richly blessed by it each and every time. Try as you might, some things are indescribable beyond words or reasons.

And God's love is one such thing. :)

Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)
He was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.

We always proclaim in Jesus' name that by His stripes we are healed, and while we know that is true, how many of us actually understand the extent of the flogging that He actually went through for us?

John 15:18,20 (NLT)
18 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. ... 20 Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. ..."

We are lucky to be in Singapore where we are able to openly announce our relationship with God and not be afraid of being persecuted. Should a day come when such persecution happens, I pray that by God's strength I will be able to withstand anything that comes.

John 13:34 (NLT)
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

Matthew 5 (NLT)
43 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? ..."

Not only should we have love for fellow siblings-in-Christ, we should also love our enemies. That is probably something that I find to be the most hard to do. Though I try to forgive and forget, there are still some grudges from the past that's still holding me back. I really have to pray for a breakthrough in this area with Lord Jesus as my model.

Luke 23:34 (NLT)
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."

Even unto death, my Lord was still praying for His "enemies". How much more do we have to pray for others that trespass against us?

John 14:6 (NLT)
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ..."

Matthew 26 (NLT)
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it, for this is my body."

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

Next Sunday is going to be communion Sunday. With remembrance to what Jesus had done for us, and the blood that He shed to protect us, let us remember Him, and affirm in our hearts that He is our Lord and Saviour. He now sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us every day.

The bible, being only words, is very often too easy to read. Read the following:

John 19 (NLT)
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

...

18 Here they crucified him... .

In just a few words, it tells of Jesus' sacrifice of us. However the extent of what He went through, no one except Him knows. Not only has my King died for me, He conquered death, and won against all odds and traps that the devil had plotted. He was tempted like every man, yet He never sin. He bore our iniquities and gave us a chance to come back to God. No other love is greater than this.

John 3:16 (NLT)
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

And on the day when we meet our Saviour, the holes in His hands will still be there, bearing evidence of the nails that He took for us in His hands and feet. All praises be to the Name above all names, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, Jesus Christ. Amen!

Revelation 21 (NLT)
4 "... He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!"

I Hate Being A Cry Baby

But can I help it?

Occasionally some things will come along the way, touches your heart in its deepest corners, triggers the emotion centre of your heart and the floodgates of your eyes will just give way.

I wanted to post this video yesterday, because it made me burst into tears when I was just trying to kill time over lunch before I head off to church. I just watched it again, and well... you already know what happened.

Stories like Team Hoyt are indeed meant to strengthen us through all kinds of difficulties and struggles. Like Dick Hoyt (the father) who gave his all just to spend more time with his son and allow him to experience more of life, the same way has God wanted us to experience more of life through the blood of Jesus Christ.

I love my Father, and I'm not ashamed to make it known to the world. Pray that His amazing strength will work in us, and let us not fail to continue to spread His Word and love to those around us. I had done so little for Him thus far, and I can do _so much more_.

*We can do all things in Him who strengthens us.*



When asked what one thing Rick (the son) wished he could give his father, his reply was "The thing I'd most like is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once."

The Good-O-Meter

Just how good is _good enough_ to get into heaven?
Watch the video to find out! :D



We're saved not by our good works, but by the blood of Jesus when He paid the ultimate price for us. Believe that Jesus is Your personal Lord and Saviour, and accept Him into your life today. :)

(Link to video courtesy of Cherlene)

Bouncing Blessings

It's really amazing how God works. :)

Many moons ago, when my cell group member Adriel first posted this video on our cell's blog, I was immensely touched by it. :')

So yesterday I was prompted to share this video again with my sis Cherlene and she too, was both blessed and touched by it. Her post about it then bounced the blessings back to me.

Jeremiah 3:22
Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.

Not to mention the fact that I _nearly_ tear in office (was controlling so hard). How great, how deep, and how immense is our Father's love for us. :')

定风波

莫听穿林打叶声，何妨吟啸且徐行。
竹杖芒鞋轻胜马，谁怕？一蓑烟雨任平生。
料峭春风吹酒醒，微冷，山头斜照却相迎。
回首向来萧瑟处，归去。也无风雨也无晴。

苏东坡 (1037-1101)

A Beautiful Passage

My sister-in-Christ Cherlene was sharing this beautiful passage with me yesterday, and I feel the need to pass it on because I know of my fellow siblings experiencing difficulties in their relationships.

Very rare will I post something that's not from the bible, but because this passage contains biblical truth and is in line with God's Word, I trust and hope that it will come to bless all who reads this.

All praises be unto God. :)

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly, and exclusively.

But God, to a Christian says,
"No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content
with being loved by Me alone,
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me,
With having an intensely personal relationship with Me alone,
Discovering that only in Me
Is your satisfaction to be found,
Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship
That I have planned for you.

You will never be able to unite with another
Until you are united with Me,
Exclusive of anyone or anything else,
Exclusive of any desires or longings.
I want you to stop planning,
Stop wishing,
And allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing,
One that you cannot imagine.
I want you to have the very best.
Please allow Me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things,
Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I AM,
Keep listening and learning the things I tell you,
You just wait, that's all.
Don't worry.
Don't be anxious.
Don't look around at the things others have gotten
Or that I've gotten them.
Don't look at the things you think you want
You just keep looking to Me,
Or you'll miss what I want to show you.

And then, when you're ready,
I'll surprise you with a love
Far more wonderful than any you would dream of.
You see, until you are ready,
And until the one I have for you is ready,
(I am working even at this moment to have you both ready at the same time)
Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me,
And the life I prepared for you,
You won't be able to experience the love that
Exemplifies your relationship with Me,
And thus is the perfect love.
And dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love,
I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me;
And to enjoy materially and concretely,
The everlasting union of beauty, perfection and love.
Know I love you utterly,
I am God.
Believe it and be satisfied."

One Crazy Driver

So I was walking across the road after lunch and made sure there were no cars. The next moment I heard the turbo charge sound and my colleague grabbed my arm.

Thank God for my colleague's quick action because there was a black vinyl car that was speeding right in my way.

The aggression from the driver was ridiculous. He stopped right in front of us, lowered down his window and questioned my colleague "What did you say?!" when all he said to me while grabbing my arm was "slow down." My colleague must have been totally pissed by his appalling attitude and shouted at him to "F*** off~."

One crazy driver. He must have been driving at around 120km/h and could have beaten the red light just to get to where we were. Whatever it is, I'm just glad that that my colleague held me back if not I could have ended up in a bad mess on the road judging from that kind of speed.

PS: The driver looked like late 30s to 40s. Has hair that's dyed gold and spiked. Face is not cleanly shaven and wears pink top today. If you happen to recognise him, do stay away. Who knows what he might do EVEN WITHOUT HIS CAR.

Sorry, But I Got Distracted

For the close friends whom I have confided (also bugged) for the last 2 weeks, just want to say a big thank you to you guys for the support and advice rendered.

Well I got distracted, and I am certainly in a better direction now. Funny what a rainy Sunday's worth of reflection is able to put things into perspective. God's never in a hurry right? And I never have to worry about missing God's plan for me.

If this post doesn't make any sense to you, please don't think too much about it. :P Don't have to ask me what it is also la, because it's already something that I want to leave into God's time. In the right time, I'll blog about it again. :)

Whatever that is meant to come will come. In His everlasting love I trust. :)

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A Tribute To Sporting Excellence

I wasn't exactly very keen about the Olympics every time, but well, somehow this time seems different? A sign of age and sense I guess. :P

Although the games that I managed to watch were far in between, every single match up was truly enjoyable, and it only exhibits the hard works of all the competitors.

You must know the saying, "台上三分钟，台下十年功" (or maybe something similar?). Those competitors must have invested countless hours to train and hone their abilities, and I truly respect them for that. It's hard not to notice, but the fact is really that a lot of them are younger than me! (I'm feeling old already. :P)

They all had dreams. Some fulfilled them, while others were shattered. Even though some dreams were broken, their spirit will never break and I know that they will come back again to compete. They will pour even more hard work, to excel into even better sportsmen, breaking their own limits, and be forever ready to prove their skills again.

That is the spirit that I really admire. Looking at myself, I know that I can never be a competent sportsman (obvious!). Some people are born with the talent, while a lot more are filled with their respective passion and hone their skills through training. I know perfectly I am neither of these two categories. :P

However, this spirit of theirs inspired me. Be the best in whatever you do. This spirit brought fresh fire to my life and I do want to be the best programmer out there. Probably still wayyyy too early on the world stage, loL~, but it's not impossible one k? :P

The other thing that touched me deeply was when I saw tears from the competitors. Nobody will ever understand the extent of sacrifice they must have given, but now they can stand tall and receive the glory they brought to their country. It is this kind of moment, that when you see your flag raised up amongst all other flags, does it bring the kind of glory that no other arena provides.

I would just want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Singapore women table tennis team for the awesome fight they put in to win the Olympic Silver for us. :)

Here's a salute to all sportsmen. You guys rock big time!

The Evangecube

My colleague was showing me an actual evangecube today. I thought it is really neat as it will help put across an important message to pre-believers of Christ succinctly.

However, since I have no idea where to get one of these, I probably can't show it to any of you. But well, praise God for there are videos already available made to spread this important message.

If you would, please spare a few minutes. You've watched hundreds of shows or videos, why not this one that could probably change your life? :)

Doing Myself A Favour

For the longest time I've been feeling tired. Not just tired tired but it's actually *really solidly tired*.

On top of my day job, which sometimes stretches into unusually long hours, I spend a little too much time committing myself to a lot of other things. Such includes blogging (be it my profession or personal ones), being a moderator at Singapore Flex Usergroup, a committee member in The Actionscript Conference, my choir ministry in church, and of course things of lesser importance, watching shows and gaming.

Hehe.. I still have guitar lessons upcoming. How's that for a tight schedule? :D

Well, I've made a decision. From yesterday onwards, I will sleep before 2359, wake up promptly at 0700, and reach office on time at 0900. Likewise, I'll get off work on time at 1800 when it's within my means, and really strive to be on time in anything that I do.

Probably the biggest compelling reason for such a decision is the fact that I'm really not getting enough time to rest and exercise. When I don't have my usual weekday commitments like cell group meetings, I can be found OT-ing in office. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. But since my stamina is _really_ going downhill, I have to start doing something about it.

I'm ready to identify the parts that are a hazard in my life, and going to stem them out here and now, fully if not partly. Start of a quarter-life crisis? Maybe. But one thing is for sure, I'm doing myself a favour. :)

The Singapore Song

This is a song composed and sung by my church's Senior Pastor Rony Tan.

I really want to thank God for this heart of his, for it really inspired and touched me deeply. For many years of my life, National Day probably just meant a plain and simple public holiday; a day to have fun and be free.

The question is how are we able to experience the fun and freedom now, if our forefathers never paid the price? It was a price that we could *never* comprehend or experience; the pain, suffering, poverty and struggle. How many of us actually know how it feels like to _struggle to survive_?

Even as I write this post, strong emotions are crashing upon my heart. I'm thankful for God's protection over this land, that we may have peaceful days, a clean government with no known corruption, an island that's free from natural disasters, and a considerably safe society that we can be assured of our safety when we're out on the streets.

All these are things that are too easy to be taken for granted when we are born and raised in a time of peace. With this song, I do feel a lot more appreciative for this land that I stay and live in. This is the place that I call...

Home.

I Didn't Like Batman

I still remember when I was still a little boy, I didn't like the Batman movie series, or their lame TV series with the *kapow~* overlays. If you remember those, you can probably guess my age (if you dint know already :P).

In short, I was never a fan. I never liked Batman, and I dint see why or what would make me change my opinion. I neither read the comics, nor did I see the cartoons. They were mentally seared with the BORING brand even before I gave them a chance (that's what you call prejudice? I love Wolverine so much more! :D).

Batman further became the butt of one of my classic jokes when I popped this riddle (very long time back if it interest you), "If Superman wears his underwear on the outside, who wears it on the head?" You get the idea. *lol~*

3 years ago when Batman Begins first came out, it's just my usual self to think, "Huh?? Now still show Batman? Who want to watch?" Obviously I dint bother to waste my buck on it during its lifetime in theatre.

A year later, things changed. :)

A friend lent me the DVD in 2006 (even though I initially resisted) and kept telling me that it was a very good movie, a must-see. So after a couple of days, one fine night with nothing better to do, I popped the DVD into my laptop with a simple expectancy: kill the hours.

2½ hours later, I officially became a fan. :D

For the first time in my life, I thought Batman was seriously cool and awesome! I used to think that the equipments that he used were lame, and I would even question the minutest detail: those bat ears on the hood, what good are they? And how could he suddenly just spread his "wings"? All my aged long questions were answered, and I even got to know how he calls forth his allies (a.k.a. the bats) after the movie!

The fortunate ones who watched Batman Begins would have known how good, and how solid it ended. I was totally sucked into the thought of watching the sequel when it comes out. Fast forward 2 years later to the beginning of 2008, I was saddened to learn that Heath Ledger died. Ironically, it was also when I learnt that he played as The Joker in the latest Batman sequel, The Dark Knight.

A couple of months before the launch of this movie, I kept watching the trailers over and over and over again. The craving was insatiable!

And then, _it_ finally came.