Do we dare to be different?

Just finished reading Vaughan Roberts' Distinctives.--"Daring to be different in an indifferent world"

Excellant book. It challenged me in the way I live my life as my life as a Christian. Best of all, it's short(only 156 pages, smaller than A5) and very easy to read!(A lot easier to read than my blogs! :p) Please feel free to borrow it once Yifen is done with it. Or, feel free to ask Yifen for the book but inform me about it lah :p

To keep this blog short, will just share one portion that I found challenging:

It has been well said that the real question is not, 'How much of my money will I give to God's work?' We should rather be asking, 'How much of God's money will I keep for myself?' But behind even that question there is a more fundamental one: 'Will I live for this world or the next, the present or the future?'

(Roberts, Vaughan. Distinctives. pp155)

How Genesis links to the gospel

And while I eagarly await comments on my previous entry *hint, hint ;)* , my thoughts for the day...

As I wrote in my blog just this week about wanting to understand more of how the OT (Old Testament) links with the gospel and how events in the OT are about Jesus himself, my youth counsellor Paul went through "Christian Theology in Genesis 101" today :) As far as possible, will try to summarize as much as I can remember...

1) The first 3 days of Creation mirrored the last 3 days.
(a) Day 1/4: Darkness --> Light
(b) Day 2/5: Water
(c) Day 3/6: Land
(d) Day 7 : Rest
[Will not go too much into the details, those who interested to know, drop me a comment and mail and we'll talk :) ]
The first 3 days of Creation saw God creating the "structure" of the Earth and in the subsequent 3 days, one can put it as God"filling in the details". Creation, in all its wonder, mirrors God's redemption plan for Man. Man was in sin, in darkness. But God, in His grace, created us anew in Christ! We saw THE Light! Even from creation, God knew what we would do, He knew that we would betray Him. But even then, His plan for our redemption was already in work. Praise God for His grace and mercy! As for the day of rest, we have yet to fully rest. Let us press on in our Christian walk now, awaiting the day where we can really rest in God's new Kingdom :)

2) Genesis is about the fulfillment of a promise. A promise made to our forefather Abraham. "[2]I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. [3]I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" Gen 12:2,3 [NIV]
God has kept His promises, and He is still keeping that promise to Abraham. Praise God for His neverending faithfulness!

3) Issac met his wife(Rebekah) by a well (Gen 24). Jacob, Issac's son, also met one of his wives(the wife he loved, Rachel) by a well (Gen 29). Moses too, met his wife (Zipporah) by a well (Exo 2). And guess what? Jesus met his "wife" by a well too :) No, Jesus never physically married the Samaritan women he met by the well in John Chapter 4 but the Samaritan women represented the church-- his bride. Salvation wasn't merely for the Jews, it was meant for everyone! We are his bride, his church. And our Lord Jesus Christ is the bridegroom :) Praise God for his grace extended to us!

Anyway, those are some snippets of what I've learnt today :) Truely, Jesus Christ came to fulfill all that written; and all that was written was about Him for His Glory. Sometimes I wish that I was there in Luk 24:27 when Jesus, on the road to Emmaus explained how He was a fulfillement of everything in the OT; But today though, I have the privilege of having the precious Word of God at my disposal... what a wonderful privilege!

What a wonderful, powerful, marvelous God we serve and worship! Hallelujah! :)

Evaluation

Hehe... have been receiving some feedback with regards to my blog and some friends have termed it as "a tough read", "thought-provoking", "heavy", "cheem", "moody", etc... think you get the idea :p

Thoughts to those reading this?

As I said in one of my first blogs, the main purpose of my writing this blog is to help my friends, and anyone who might happen to pop by, think about some issues that I have faced or am facing in my life. It's to try to encourage everyone and its an avenue where I can share what the Lord has been teaching me :)

So, please do drop your thoughts/comments :)

Thanks!

The Way of the Cross

I'm still figuring out how to post audio clips onto this blog... so in the meantime, the lyrics... wept while listening to this...

The Way of the Cross

Show me the way of the cross once again;

Denying myself for the love that I've gained.

Everything's You now, everything's changed.

It's time You had my whole life,

You can have it all.

Chorus:

Yes, I resolve to give it all;

Some things must die, some things must live,

Not "what can I gain", but "what can I give".

If much is required when much is received,

Then You can have my whole life,

Jesus have it all.

I've given like a beggar but lived like the rich,

And crafted myself a more comfortable cross.

Yet, what I am called is deeper than this;

It's time You had my whole life,

You can have it all

Composed by

Matt Reman

Lord, take all of me...

It's been a busy week... a lessons-learnt week...

In BSF this year, I'm going through the "Acts of the Apostles". This will cover the book of Acts and a few epistles as well... really looking forward to it. Learnt and was reminded of 2 things:
1) The OT is essentially all about Jesus and the gospel. Wai led to the same verse that BSF mentioned about Jesus' preparation for his disciples. "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them [2 of the disciples] what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" Lk 24:27 And more than ever, my prayer is that as I study the OT, the Holy Spirit will lead me into knowing how the OT links up with the gospel.

2) The Acts of the Apostles should be more accurately termed as the "Acts of the Holy Spirit". And I definitely know that it ain't no coincidence that that Project Timothy Bible Conference (PTBC) was on the Spirit of Truth. And the major lesson learnt/learning-- Am I letting the Spirit fill, permeate and control every nook and cranny of my life? Are streams of living water flowing from within me? (Jn 7:38-39) David Jackman, in his book Spirit of Truth, had this to say about Jn 7:38-39. "The Biblical picture is not that I come to a great climatic experience in which the little cup of my life is filled and then I have to carry it very carefully so that none of it spills out and I do not "lost the blessing". The reality is more like that cup being placed under a continually running tap (or perhaps a better example would be the Niagra Falls!) so that the water constantly flows in and out of it. The cup remains full and yet it overflows the water all around it. Only this picture can begin to do justice to that energy and power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's fullness is not a fragile, emotional high that makes me super spiritual, but a sane, joyous and continuous dependence on the Lord, that makes for a sound mind, and a heart at leisure from itself." (this is taken from pg 75, 76)

This week, I've come to realise that there are many areas in my life where I've got a dam, a blockage against the Holy Spirit. I've refused to let Him fill me in certain area and have gone about living that part of my life by myself. Not sugarcoating anything, I've rebelled against my King in thought, speech, actions.... again.

I end of once again with David Jackman... "We do not simply need to know the Word, we also need the enabling of the Holy Spirit to empower us to obey that Word. Growing strong and maturing as a Christian is not just a matter of Bible Study, but of Bible obedience; not just high ideals, or even dogged self-discipline, but God's power."

The Grapevine

For all those staying in the Serangoon/Serangoon North/Hougang area, (or those who regularly visit this part of the island) this here's a good chill-out place to have drinks and chat.

Place: The Grapevine (this place isn't run by a Christian; though its name seems to have that connatation)

Location: Beside Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre (I don't know how else to describe it, since I don't have the address)

Opening Hours: From the evenings to about 1-2am

Pros: Well, for one, the prices for its coffees are very reasonable (in the context of this place being a cafe) $2.90 for a cup. The rest of its drinks are just as reasonably priced. On average, they are $3.90 for a glass/mug/pot(in terms of tea) One cool thing about the teas they offer is that below each tea, they tell you what that particular blend of tea is good for. Stuff like, "good for soothing sore throats and a stuffy nose..." that kinda thing. Oh, the Strawberry Frap is very good as it ain't too sweet and they actually use real strawberries, not preserved ones. The Mango smoothie is just as good though I'm not sure if they use actual mangoes for this one. Have a try of the Oreo Frap. Its not too thick, which is good in a way that you won't feel that guilty after having one; though I must say that the vanilla ice-cream scoop they add on top of the Frap kinda balances the guilt factor :p The Taiwanese-styled chicken (on the fingerfood menu) is also quite good... though it reminded me of the fried chicken I during the times I was in Taiwan on army training. The decor of the place is the minimalist kind, where less is more. Although if you do see the sofas free, chop the place! They are real comfy. Music that's aired is mainly light jazz and a little bossa nova. In a word-- "easy-listening".

Cons: For the dessert fans, you'll be sad to know that they only have 4 of those items on the menu. Can't remember what they are actually... I'm not that big a fan of desserts. Also, their main courses aren't as reasonably priced as their drinks. So for the budget-conscious, not advisable to have a meal there. Also, they allow smoking after 11.30pm, though it is not encouraged as the majority of the staff are non-smokers. One big thing to remember about the Grapevine-- They ONLY accept CASH. So for the cash-stripped, go find an atm first.

Went there last friday with a few of my church friends and they pretty much liked the place. It was my 3rd time there, the 1st time was with a BSF(Bible Study Fellowship) friend who was very enthusiastic about the place :) Oh, please take note: in no way do I partially own the place and thus get a share of the profits :p This is strictly a personal move on my part to recommend a good place to chill out. In no way will I accept responsibility for an uneventful, regretted trip to the Grapevine ;p hehe... anyway, enjoy :)

An eventful weekend

This weekend saw history almost being made (Li Jiawei's close call at an Olympics medal), history being made (the major changes by our new PM) and sports records being equaled (Michael Phelp's 8 gold medals and Arsenal's 42-match unbeated streak in the EPL). And I spent the weekend sick. Oh well...

Jiawei's efforts were encouraging though. You could see the pressure on her face as every trick she had under her sleeve seemed to be countered with an excellant defensive display by her Korean opponent. Well, she may be down, but I think that she's definitely not out. Wondering if I put in the same amount of effort in my own personal battles... hmm...

Worrying to see the new PM being quite pro-casino. Yeen Lan (my church's misssionary to Kenya) also shared her concerns with us about the casino issue during Friday's prayer fellowship. One of the major dangers Christians face today is compromise. Compromise in making church services too "congregation-friendly", compromise in sharing only part of the gospel, compromise in the way we lead Christ-like lives. Have I compromised in the way I lead my life? I think I have... many, many times...

Well, at least our new PM has made it slightly easier for couples to make babies...

Paternal "instincts"

Lecture today was very... maternal to say the least...

I'm doing a module titled "Developmental Psychology" this semester and the lecture today was on the pre-natal and post-natal phase of human development. The standard vocab was heard. ie. zygote, embryo, twins, etc...(will not use the technical terms here, I'm having trouble remembering them myself!)

But really, most of the lecture was focused on what a mother would experience and feel during these phases of her pregnancy and the post-natal phase. AND a fair bit was also about the role of her husband and how he can support his wife in this period of... the human lifespan.

Other stuff I had to learn... the various ways a baby is delivered (natural, caesarian, epidural, etc..). And oh, did you know that babies have 3 different ways of crying? I was pretty intrigued.

Learning about all this kinda puts parenthood into perspective. Even though I am nowhere near that phase in life, one realises that a lot is expected. Even before the baby is born, so much has to be done. And when your precious child is born, before you lies a great gift and reponsibility our Heavenly Father has graciously bestowed. Also, there in lies a new ministry for the father and mother as well-- to bring up their child in the fear and love of God.

For now, I'm still single and have no children of my own. Moreover, I am still a child to parents who sacrificed a lot in loving, caring and providing for me. I thank God for them and my prayer is that God will teach me how to honour them and love them better.

Grace

Do we say 'grace' with a sincere heart every time? You know, the prayer of thanksgiving before we makan our food...

Was having dinner on Mon and my brother joined me while I was halfway through. And before digging in, he did his usual 'grace'-- a quick 6-second silent prayer of "Lord, thank You for the food, thank You for the hands which prepared it and may it nourish my body. Amen"

After that, I thought about my own 6-second 'grace' that I say before meals. And it kinda runs in the same manner as my bro's. Worse, I think its not always a prayer.. its often a 6-second recitation of 'grace'. Of course, there are times where 'grace' is sincerely and genuinely said. Sad to say however, these times are mostly when I say grace for a group of people. When I'm alone, I sometimes tell myself that a "quicky" will suffice.

Well, I know I need to change in this aspect of failing to recognise our Lord's grace constantly and taking it for granted. My other challenge? To bring forth this message to my bro and remind him that it ain't a 6-second recitation, its a "not-limited-by-time prayer of thanksgiving for ultimate grace"

Could you help me?

Yifen's sharing went well today... Thanks Yifen! :) After "standing down" from the active duty of chairing my church's service, I now have another daunting task at hand... to settle the script for my Church's Christmas service in December...

And to whoever is reading this, I would really appreciate the help if you could answer the following questions... thanks! Either email me the replies [ao310@yahoo.com] or, if you're comfortable, reply me via the "comments" tab at that end of this blog entry... thanks so much!

For Christians:

1) What is Christmas to you?

2) How would you present the Christmas message to a non-believer?

3) What do you usually do on Christmas day?


For non-Christians:

1) What do you think Christmas is about?

2) Do you celebrate Christmas?

3) What do you usually do on Christmas day/Christmas period?

4) Why do you think Christians celebrate Christmas?

To the Christians reading and answering this, it'll be good for me, and for you as well, to pose these questions to your non-Christian friends and see what kind of response we'll receive. Personally, I've been a Christian for a while now, and getting into the psyche of a non-Christian is really not easy! Also, if you can spare the time, could you email me the different kinds of responses you receive?

Thanks for the help!

Pray also for both James(a close church friend) and myself that God will give us the wisdom to plan a service which is both impactful and, more importantly, faithful to the Word of God.

Once again to everyone helping me, thank you :)

The Lord's teaching on Prayer

Was studying Matt 6:9-13 and Luk 11:1-13 for the Berean Series in church on Jesus' teaching on how we should pray... and realise that "The Lord's Prayer" isn't too accurate a description for it. Jesus could have never prayed that prayer himself, as he was sinless and needn't have prayed for forgiveness. Rather, it should be "The Lord's Teaching on Prayer". Anyway, its quite sad that people often mistake this prayer to be "holier" than most. The scene in my head now is one of those cliche horror films where the pastor often starts praying this prayer in response to a greater presence of evil... grr... terrible...

Well, instead of sharing some bits of what I've learnt regard the Lord's teaching on Prayer(there's a lot!), will type out what was given to us in out notes on this... It's something worth thinking about and acting on...

But first, the Lord's teaching on Prayer in Matt 6:9-15[NIV]:

[9]"This, then, is how you should pray:

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

[10]your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

[11]Give us today our daily bread.

[12]Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

[13]And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one."

(Taken from The Christian Messenger)

I cannot say 'our' if I live in a watertight spiritual compartment

I cannot say 'Father' if I do not demonstrate the relationship in daily life

I cannot say 'which art in heaven' if I am so preoccupied with the earth that I am laying up no treasure there

I cannot say 'hallowed be they name' if I am, who am called by His Name, am not holy

I cannot say 'thy kingdom come' if I am not doing all in my power to hasten its coming

I cannot say 'thy will be done' if I am questioning, resentful of, or disobedient to His will for me

I cannot say 'in earth, as it is in heaven' if I am not prepared to devote my life to His service

I cannot say 'give us this day our daily bread' if I am living on past experiences or am an under-the-counter shopper

I cannot say 'forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us' if I harbour a grudge against anyone

I cannot say 'lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately place myself in a position to be tempted

I cannot say 'deliver us from evil' if I am not prepared to fight it in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer

I cannot say 'thine is the kingdom' if I do not accord the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject

I cannot say 'thine is the power' if I fear what men may do or what my neighbours may think

I cannot say 'thine is the glory' if I am seeking glory for myself

I cannot say 'for ever' if my horizon is bounded by the things of time

We cannnot ever say out that prayer by our own strength, but by the cross, by our Lord's grace, we can :) Hallelujah!

The Brainiest of them all

Just a note to all teachers and NIE trainee-teachers reading this : I can feel your stress...

Watched "Singapore's Brainiest Kid" on Tuesday and man... scary. The amount of knowledge these top kids of our nation today possess is phenomenal. Congrats to the winner, Annabelle (I think... my memory's failing me). But I was most impressed by her reading speed. For most of the questions, even before I was halfway through reading the question, she had either passed the question or answered it correctly! (speed reading perhaps? I don't know!) Her specialist subject was Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and man... she certainly was a specialist in it! I betcha she could tell you the exact shade and colour of Gandalf's pipe if that information was in the book!

After all that, I was thinking that teachers and parents have a hard time in teaching and bringing up their children in the way of the Lord. This job can often be discouraging, energy-sapping(just read the comic "Baby Blues!") and it has immense responsibilities. (Round of applause for our own parents!) Tough.

Parents, parents-to-be, teachers and teachers-to-be... In truth, they are moulding the future of our nation. But from a more micro perspective, the main goal of these Christian leaders is to bring their child/student to a greater understanding of the Christian race, and not "top grades win". Tough, but with God's strength, it can be done :)

And as children and students ourselves, let's not give our parents, teachers, lecturers a hard time ya? ;)

So, who's the "brainiest" kid of them all?
Ans: a child brought up to love and fear the Lord :)

Falling asleep... zzzz.....

My battle with the Zzz monster rages on...

Just took a shower... a cold one. Leaving the dimension of consciousness and entering the domain of the Zzz monster felt inevitable. My eyes were heavy, the words on the page I was reading felt like a mirage... hazy; there one minute, not there the next. Doesn't help as well that a fair bit of my body's resources are channeled to my stomach because lunch was just devoured(still one of the best ways to a man's heart :p)

I wanna take a poll--- hands up all those who agree with me that the 1-2+ pm timeslot (or the post-lunch period) in the day is when the Zzz monster strikes the most!

And now that I'm more awake (a cold shower always does the trick!), I'm reminded of Mark 13 and the warning given to us in vs 36. Even as we await the coming of our Bridegroom(Christ), I often think that it is inevitable that we'll grow weary and sleepy. That's why our gathering as a church to encourage one another is so important :) We need to pinch each other to stay awake :p
While thinking about this, I'm directed to 1 Thess 4-5 and these words encouraged me, hope they'll encourage you too :)

"[13]Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. [14]We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. [15]According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16]For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17]After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. [18]Therefore encourage each other with these words."

1 Thess 4:13-18

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus! & Stand up, Stand up for Singapore!

Was greatly encouraged that others were encouraged in the songs I chose during morning service yesterday :) Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

As I was reflecting about my day, I once again Thanked God for His wonderful gift of music. A world without tunes or melodies drifting in the wind is kinda unimaginable. And even if man wasn't given this gift of crafting a harmony of lovely sounds, all of nature, in their own ways, would shout out in praise of our powerful, loving, awesome God! (pls read in context! :p Luke 19:40)

Without a shadow of a doubt, music is a universal language (mathematicians will clamour that math is another one of those!). Its appeal and reach goes beyond all cultures and as someone once said (I can't remember who! Pardon me while I plagiarize...), "music speaks straight to the heart". This makes music extremely effective and useful in exorting our fellow saints in exalting our Lord.

However... music's ability to influence and control the a person's will, emotions, sometimes even a person's mind makes it an immensely powerful tool in misguiding a person to rebel against God. Sadly, music's beauty has also made it a god to others.

As a Christian, my duty lies in using this gift of music in a responsible, and more importantly, edifying manner to exort my fellow brothers and sisters in praising God with song. Why song? Cos worshipping God in song (note: 'worshipping God in song' is ONE phrase) requires me to do it with my mind as well. In other words, I need to KNOW who it is I'm singing praises to and UNDERSTAND what it is I'm proclaiming about Him. This can only be done with the help of lyrics. Thus, faithful and biblical lyrics are highly important in choosing songs to sing. As a worship leader, (let's not get into semiotics and terminology now) this is my challenge.

In our personal times of singing onto the Lord, let us choose good songs. Songs which are faithful to the Word. Songs which help us express our love for God and songs which help us better understand and appreciate God's love for us :)

And as Paul exorts us in Ephesians to do...

"Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. "

Eph 5:15-21

P.S. Though singing national day songs are sometimes considered childish, I still enjoy singing them. No doubt, they may not be the best of songs, but national pride and loyalty, to me at least, are still important :) (kena brainwashed by goverment liao! :P) Happy National Day!

Reunions

Went back to SAJC for the annual SFC(Saints for Christ) reunion dinner last night. As I was talking to the J1 ex-co and getting myself updated with the Christian scene in my school (yes, I still regard it as my school!) worries flood my mind. Mormons and "Da Vinci Code people" are doing their own form of evangelism and apparantly, they are getting to be quite a strong group (all run by students of course).

All this is totally in contrary to what MOE is trying to do. MOE is getting to be "practically secularist" (read Tony Payne's "Islam in our backyard"; he explains this term) and they are trying to clamp down on all forms of religious evangelism in Singapore schools (Chin Cher sorta confirmed this when I was talking to him during the PTBC). But interestingly enough, all the official clamping down is only resulting in the mushrooming of small, informal religioius groups in our schools (it's roughly the same in other schools I'm told).

One thing I can draw from all this (some of what I'm saying is drawn from Tony's book) is that governments, in general, are regarding religion as something that should be hush-hush and only for the personal life of its citizens. "Do not bring religion into the workplace, school, etc." is the message that they are trying to bring (Which explains the major amendments to the Racial and Religious Harmony Act in recent years). However, despite all their efforts, more and more people are realising that secularism is not the way to go. Secularism does not fulfill and answer that deep "meaning of life" question/void in their hearts. (I love Pascal's words that say that we all have a God-shaped vacuum in our hearts) "Religion" seems to answer and fill that void.

Back to SAJC. Despite the increasing barriers in spreading the gospel, I am encouraged to see that this year, the numbers in SFC have ballooned. There is a healthy number of J1's this year. And though they are mainly charismatic, I thank God that there are youth who are willing to commit their 2 years in JC to doing the work of passing on this good deposit we are all called to carry. My prayer for my fellow brothers and sisters can be found in Philipians 1. (Quite a number of people have guided me to this portion of Scripture and it's something that I pray for my leaders and for myself as well)

As we toil on in ministry, may we learn to love.

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. "

Phil 1:9-11

El Shaddai

Got the full lyrics to this song. Will be singing it during service this sunday. Powerful words...(translation of the Hebrew text in blue)

El Shaddai

El Shad-dai, El Shad-dai, (God almighty, God almighty)
El El-yon (The Most High God) na A-do-nai (O Lord)
Age to age You’re still the same
By the power of the name.
El Shad-dai, El Shad-dai, (God almighty, God almighty)
Er-kahm-ka (we will love You) na A-do-nai (O Lord)
We will praise and lift You high,
El Shad-dai

Through Your Love and through the ram
You saved the son of Abraham
And by the power of your hand
Turned the sea into dry land
To the outcast on her knees
You were the God who really sees
And by your might you set your children free

Through the years you made it clear
that the time of Christ was near
Though the people failed to see
what Messiah ought to be
Though Your word contained the plan
they just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done through the frailty of Your Son

Composed by

Michael Card

How's your driving?

Went through a driving lesson today... and had a pretty eventful weekend. And the question i'm asking myself? How's my driving? (in all senses of the word)

Driving isn't as easy as it looks. Looking out for blind spots, depressing your cluth pedal, watching the road ahead of you, looking out for hazardous pedestrians (I'm one of them! :p), etc... many, many factors to take note of.

And guess what? Life can be viewed as a drive, but its a WHOLE lot tougher! :p "Ah yes" you must be saying... "Adrian's gonna launch into one of those cliche bits about putting God in the driving seat of our life... why in the world am i still reading this??" Hehe... well, thanks you for reading so far down and since I think that a lot of us already know this, today's blog won't be in that manner (note, manner only ah) lah...

Anway, thoughts I found myself asking were, "Driving (in the context of driving through life) is such a complex, close-to-impossible thing to do. And if left to us terrible, undisciplined, BAD drivers, accidents are gonna happen like every minute of the day. And worse of all, people are gonna get killed and hurt."

Well, sadly, that's the world today. We drive through our own lives based on our own rules. We ignore the road signs and highway codes necessary to keep us on a safe journey. These were put in place to keep us on the right track; but instead, they were treated with contempt. And the result? Innocent people have suffered, died because of our irresponsible, haphazard drive through life. And this weekend, I saw firsthand the result of someone so tramautised to drive through life, that this friend of mine came close to throwinging away the key and was possibly wishing to drive off a cliff.

As drivers, what's our destination? (By the way, let's take note that by grace, we have passed the driving test. We would all have failed but someone else took the test for us :) Anyway, back to the point...) The road that we have to take is an offbeat track. Bumps and sharp objects are to be expected. This isn't an F1 race where super-human teams are there to change our tyres, refuel the car and all the other precision stuff that happens at the pitstop. This is off-track terrain. We have to get prepared down and dirty work. When tyres burst, we have to manually change them ourselves. Our hands have to get greasy to jack the car up if we fall into mud. There's the risk of others inconsiderately splashing mud on us as they zoom past.

And yet, the race toward the final destination has to go on. Along the way however, do we, as Christian drivers, stop and help others change their tyres? Do we help repair their vehicle or do we drive on like we never saw them? When we see others heading in the totally different direction cos they lost their navigator, do we offer to share in the knowledge of the way to the finishing line?

Its a dirty job, and guess what? We all gotta do it! The question is, "Do we?"

Along the way however, let's take heart and focus on the destination. Though we may arrive with cuts and bruises, the joy of reaching that final destination will definitely overshadow anything we could have gone through :)

Press on!