Frienships and what binds us all together

There is a need for everyone to interact, to be united through the simplest and most trivial of reasons. In the film 'Before Sunrise' (yes, I watched the show ;p), all it took to get 2 people talking was an exchange of their shared observations at a couple who was quarreling. The World Cup joins people from various races, from all walks of life... though I must add that the World Cup is NOT a trivial reason for bonding :p Anyway, emerging from this great need for social and emotional support then comes BOTH great pleasure and great distress.

Perhaps one of the greatest joys in life is to watch the sunrise with a close friend beside you. On the flip side is the acute pain of knowing that a frienship can never return to the way it once was. Friendships that were as solid as a rock can, through a touchy situation, turn into something as fragile as a flower petal. Hours and hours of thinking, of deliberation, of tears are spent into handling our friendships and relationships.

Recently, due to my insensitivity, I put a strain on a close friendship. There was an awkward moment and I was well... lost for words. However, the honesty displayed and the openess in sharing was key in putting things right again. And I would dare say, what was a tense time turned out to strengthen the friendship. And more importantly, the reason that we were willing to talk things through was centred on Christ. The bedrock of our friendship was probably the need for righteous living and to carry on in this life as partners of the gospel, as fellow ministers of the Word.

God is indeed wonderful. I take a quote from Chris Chia when he says that God "specialises" in the 'reversal of fortunes'. What is built upon man's "wisdom" is taken down and built upon the foundation of God Himself. He turns our mistakes and misjudements into life-learning lessons. And more often than not, we learn the most through the things we've done wrong.

Good Christian friends are hard to come by. And to me, this is something in life worth taking time and effort for. I rejoice when God is the centre of our relationships and that Christ-likeness is the goal we're all supporting one another for :)

Ending of with Rom 12:9-13. In the paragraph of the NIV, it says "love". In the ESV, it says "Marks of the true Christian". Whatever the case, it was a good reminder of genuine love, shown to others through the love of Christ :)

"[9]Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. [10]Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. [11]Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. [12]Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. [13]Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."

Rom 12:9-13 (ESV)

3 Weddings & an ICT

The above phrase describes my July. For those who don't know, ICT stands for "In-Camp-Training"... in olden army talk, its Reservist.

Busy as I might be, attending/helping out in 3 weddings is fun :) I'm heavily involved in one, mildly involved in another, and not sure if I am involved in the last one... though I did impart all that I know to the wedding planner...

I'm not implying that the ICT is like a funeral (ok... maybe I am in a little way :p) but hey, there are better ways of spending your hols as compared to running around in the forests of our beloved Lion City :p

The weddings however, bring about reminders once again of relationships.... AND the stage of life I'm in. However wonderful and joyful weddings might be though, one should always look to the model relationship-- Christ's sacrifice for His Bride, the Church. From there, a reality check--the Man's role in a relationship.

I have yet to hit that juncture again but I thank God for the lessons previously taught. And if I do ever enter into a courting relationship... well, may the Lord give me wisdom to lead myself and my GF into righteousness and Christlikeness.

Spain 3, Tunisia 1

I'm running the risk of over-spiritualising here (welcome to post-modernism... where the 'Jack & Jill' nusery rhyme can be turned into a holy story) but I was reminded of the Christian life while watching the match between Spain & Tunisia, so... these are my thoughts :)

I didn't catch the 1st half so imagine my amazement when I woke up to Spain trailing by a goal at the 46th min. It was an entertaining half (and by entertaining, I mean that it was one-way traffic with Spain having most of the possession) as Spain surged onward, wave after wave of attack. Tunisia were just packing in their defence, crowding their 6-yard area with bodies, restricting the short-passing game of the Spaniards.

As the game wore on however, I was just absolutely amazed at how calm and patient the Spanish were. Though their final passes to Torres & Raul (their strikers) were being intercepted time and time again, they just regained possession and tried again. Drifting the ball from flank to flank, patiently waiting for an opening, they continued pressing. Never once did they start to look desperate and pump in high balls or shoot like mis-aimed cannons from long distance They knew what they had to do and they stuck to it. Eventually, they were rewarded with goals coming in the 72nd, 76th and 90th min... winning the game 3-1.

So, what was going through my mind? Well, when something worrying happens in life (like the unexpected 0-1 lead by the Tunisians), I begin to worry and doubt creeps in. Are you sure I'm supposed to follow God's word all the way through? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe God hopes for me to try it out this other way?

The way the Spanish played, consistent & patient, reminded me that sometimes, that's the way the path of righteouness works. Our first instinct would be to react and cry out, something's wrong here! This shouldn't be happening! But what is often needed is to follow through on God's commands, tough and seemingly "unrewarding" as it might be. To press on and fix our eyes on Jesus along the way. Too many of us have grown to develop a "rewards-right-now" theology. Where we half-expect our rewards to be given to us on earth. However, that ain't the way God works. Yes, He does, in His grace, reward us in multiple ways on earth... but our full inheritance isn't to be found here, its when we finally get to glorify Him over and over again... for all eternity! That's our inheritance and reward :)

May we be patient and long-suffering... keeping to his commands of righteousness and learning to be faithful to our Lord and Saviour. Stirring each other onward and pointing always toward Christ. For in the light of eternity, the narrrow gate and hard way leads to life eternal...

[13]"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14]For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

Matt 7:13,14 (ESV)

Wonderful Merciful Saviour

There aren't many songs (to my knowledge at least) which focus on man's state of helplessness and the grace & work of God. Too many are written on a works-based, music-focused theology.

I echo the words of Geoff Bullock when he says, "Worship has nothing at all to do with what we have done and everything to do with what God has done... worship is an identification with brokeness, and a realisation that our strength comes not from what we have done but only from what God has done for us, and so we live our lives in response." (taken from 'the BRIEFING', Apr 29, 1999)

Therefore, I welcome songs which look at who God is and strip it down to look at who we actually are. "Wonderful Merciful Saviour" is one of those songs and I was reminded of it this morning.

Wonderful Merciful Savior

Wonderful, merciful Savior
Precious Redeemer and friend
Who would have thought that a lamb could
Rescue the souls of men
Oh, You rescue the souls of men

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper
Spirit we long to embrace
You offer hope when our hearts have
Hopelessly lost the way
Oh, we hopelessly lost the way

~Chorus~
You are the one that we praise
You are the one we adore
You give the healing and grace
Our hearts always hunger for
Oh, our hearts always hunger for

Almighty, infinite Father
Faithfully loving Your own
Here in our weakness You find us
Falling before Your throne
Oh, we're falling before Your throne

Wonderful, merciful, saviour, precious, redeemer, friend, lamb, rescuer, counsellor, comforter, keeper, hope, almighty, infinite, father, faithful... these are the adjectives that are used to describe and glorify our God Almighty in this song. Is this list exhaustive? I certainly hope not!

Question is, do we take the time to praise God for who He is and not only for what He has done? To marvel and glorify His attributes? I think that when we do, we'll realise that our finite and limited languages aren't enough to describe our King and Lord.

And as we do that, we'll realise that there is only one response and posture that seems befitting... on our knees, falling before Him. Understanding and accepting our brokeness, realising the darkness of sin, the frailty of our mortality and the inability of our actions to appease our just God.

For we worship a Wonderful, Merciful Saviour.


P.S. I have the song for those who want it

Faithful Friend

Lovely song... Reminds us of how we should treat our brothers and sisters in-Christ... as I was reminded of recently ;)

I pray that that we'll be that kind of friend to all and that God will bless you with that kind of friendship... the same way that He has blessed me :)

Faithful Friend
(Twila Paris & Steven Curtis Chapman)

Everyone knows you as a man of honor
I am glad to know you simply as a friend
You've always taken time to be my brother
And I'll be standing by you in the end

But I will never put you on a pedestal
I thank the Lord for everything you do
I'll be there to pray for you and for the ones you love
I believe that He will finish all He started in you

I will be an open door that you can count on
Anywhere you are, anywhere you've been
I will be an honest heart you can depend on
I will be a faithful friend

I am one of many whose path has been made clearer
By the light you've carried faithfully as a warrior and a child
God has used you greatly to encourage and inspire
And you've remained a true friend all the while

So I will never put you on a pedestal
'Cause we both know all the glory is the Lord's
And I'll be there to pray that He will keep you by His grace
And I always will remind you to be seeking His face

I will be an open door that you can count on
Anywhere you are, anywhere you've been
I will be an honest heart you can depend on
I will be a faithful friend

Should it ever come your time to mourn
I will weep with you
And every single time you win
I'm celebrating too
I will celebrate with you

I will be an open door that you can count on
Anywhere you are, anywhere you've been
I will be an honest heart you can depend on
I will be a faithful friend, I will be faithful
I will be a faithful friend

red=Twila Paris
blue=Steven Curtis Chapman
green=Deut

P.S. I have the mp3 if you want it :)

The Greatness of our Lord II

The previous post looked at the greatness of our God in the awesome, the breathtaking. Who doesn't love a glorious sunrise? :)

Now though, these flowers display the intimate nature and intricate creativity of our Lord :) I can just imagine our Father taking a stroll through Eden with Adam showing him every single flower, explaining to him the little wonders of this planet earth; of the garden Adam was to lovingly tend.

I thank God that I had the oppurtunity to appreciate my Creator God in both the majestic and the familiar. May I continue to take more of these instances to catch glimpses of God in what He has made; and to further praise Him, knowing that all these came about through his spoken word.

The Greatness of our Lord

Its been a long time since I last blogged but I'm back :) To earmark a new season of blogging, I'm opening with this picture of a sunrise I took in Cameron Highlands. As I'm still in the midst of my exams, blogging will be slow-going for a while... check back for more as time passes :)