I did my own washing of my clothes as usual. But tonight, something suddenly struck me.
As I wringed my FOX T-shirt to remove the excess water, some thoughts came to my mind.
(Perhaps some of you may not know this but FOX apparel hails from the land of Israel.)
The T-shirt is particular has this slogan emblazoned across the chest:
MAXIMUM result
MINIMUM effort
At the back there is a small stylized '1948'.
I've never taken a 2nd look at the slogan and 'year established' but tonight I had a 2nd opinion.
In light of the recent global backlash on Israel's air campaigns and hostile bombarding of Southern Lebanon, I thought of some things.
But as I've earlier mentioned in a previous post that this isn't meant to be a political blog in anyway, the comments here are my own opinions and in no way represent anyone else.
So Israel has struck a UN observation post.
So Israel has bombed a village killing many young ones.
So the whole world minus the USA has heaped much vituperation on Israel.
So what?
As it has been since 1948, Israel will always be seen as the bad guys. It is the perceived fact and will remain this way until the world caves in.
1948. A year where the thinkable occurred.
After disappearing from the face of the earth for so many hundreds of years, the State of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948.
Jews from all over the globe trotted back to their homeland, defying all logic and reasoning, established Yisra'el as a sovereign nation.
MAXIMUM result, MINIMUM effort.
The eyes of the world may never understand it, but Israel will always be the first chosen nation of God.
Her very name was bestowed upon Jacob after he wrestled with God.
Israel = “he who Struggled with God” OR “Prince with God” OR "Upright (with) God"
(Genesis 32:28)
Though she had revolted against her God countless times;
Though she had turned her face to foreign idols innumerably;
Yet,
In God's eyes, Israel is still His first chosen race.
________________________________________________________
Throughout history, ancient Israel has defeated countless enemies without so much as relying on themselves, but on God.
-Abraham and his 318 warriors were heroes during their rescue mission.
-Isaac always had plenty of living water in the wells he dug, despite his enemies shutting off his water supplies.
-Gideon and his valiant 300 men defeated the Midianites with torches in one hand, and trumpets in the other, all the while calling out, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!"
-Joshua and his men at the brink of Jericho, came face to face with and prostrated before the almighty Commander of the LORD's army.
The ancients had total reliance and submission to His will and they won battles. ________________________________________________________
When they lost, it was the failure of man, not God.
-Israel lost at Ai because of Achan's sin
-Israel lost at Ebenezer because of the nation's constant disobedience.
-Israel was put to near-total annihilation because the blood of Jesus came upon their hands as they had foolishly proffered when they called for His crucifixion.
They were dispelled far and wide.
They lost their birthright temporarily to the Gentile world so that we might have access to Jesus our Father.
_________________________________________________________
But God is a faithful God.
He has preserved a remnant(Romans 11) that would one day accept Jesus as the Messiah, the only King.
When that day comes, we would all be in close anticipation of His coming glory.
1948 was the beginning of such a great work and miracle.
God's work and love for Israel is one that transcends human and earthly understanding.
So be it Hezbollah today or Hamas tomorrow, Be it a 6-Day war or a Gaza Strip tussle, God's chosen race will continue to defeat their enemies IF, and only if, it is in God's plan and will.
(Curiously, is it any coincidence that the flag of the Hezbollah features a hostile arm grabbing hold of a cold, cold AK-47 Assault Rifle, while the emblem of the Hamas features 2 crossed swords that speaks silent violence?)
As God was El Elohe Israel to Jacob, He is still the same today, to His physical Israel, and more so His Spiritual Israel.
This is a quote not born of a slacker, but of a victor who truly relies on Jesus:
MAXIMUM result,
MINIMUM effort
- Since 1948 ...... or rather, much further before & into all eternity.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
An Anchor of Our Faith
I shared my first sermonette during a recent youth service.
I've decided to put up the notes to share. Note that it has been edited to fit a blog-post style. Whether a cursory or thorough reading, I hope you are edified as much as I was in preparing it.
Do give me some pointers.
The theme for this quarter’s Youth Service is ‘Unchanging Truth & Faith in a Changing World’.
Admittedly, I encountered some difficulty in thinking of what to speak on. In the end, I decided on: ‘An Anchor of Our Faith’
_______________________________________________________
Many of us have faced times or situations where we were forced to make decisions. Being forced means that we felt constrained to make the decisions that would affect the sequence of events ahead and more importantly, the direction of our faith.
A simple MCQ :
How often has it been for you that you had to make some tough decisions about your faith? (A)Quite often? (B)Very often? If we belong to any of these 2 groups, we should count ourselves fortunate. Why so? Firstly, it’s because these 2 options are actually the same, really, meaning that we’re working hard at preserving our faith. But more importantly, it reflects that we are actively concerned with ensuring that our decisions will only affect our faith in a good way.
Now this is of paramount importance in our compromising world. When we see how much the morals and ethics of the world have regressed, there is a strong need to be proactive in maintaining a steadfast faith.
Sometimes, we may not realize it, but the slightest thing that we take part in can have some form of repercussions on our spirituality.
For example, the progress of technology is a great gain to us. But when we do not exercise enough caution, we may just let Satan deceive us into watching more TV, spending too much time in front of the computer, or fiddling around with our new techie toys too much. The clear implication here is that we let ourselves willingly be robbed of time which could have been dedicated to God.
Today's world is changing further beyond the realms of technology. Morals have sunk to new lows. Decadence and opulence have become the order of the day.
How do we remain steadfast in a changing world?
The Bible's counsel in Hebrews 6:19-20 reads:
“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,”
Here, the author of Hebrews mentions of an Anchor of the soul. This anchor is sure and steadfast, unmoving and unchanging. The anchor is the hope of our salvation and the future glory in the kingdom above. Anchors are attached to vessels.
It is interesting to note how the Bible describes our bodies as the Vessels of God. Since in another sense, a vessel can refer to a boat, a ship, or an ark even. So we are vessels of the Lord, sailing on the seas of the world today, do we have an anchor that is strong enough? Have we examined whether our hope is well-positioned to help us to remain rooted when calamity strikes?
Ephesians 4:14 serves to remind us of this danger:
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”
I recall of a testimony which I read and heard before:
There was an Indian brother who was Malaysian naval officer from Perak. He was sailing with the ship when he was mysteriously flung overboard in the middle of No-man’s Land. We can imagine how worrying it would be to get lost in a crowded place like a shopping centre, but this guy was lost in the ocean. He struggled to stay alive and had to fend off the attacks from jellyfish and predatory fishes.
Furthermore, the area where he was lost was famous for sharks! The brother struggled to stay afloat despite the rough seas and huge waves that pounded him from all sides. At one point he almost gave up, but his faith that God would save him, kept him from committing suicide.
Eventually he fainted but awoke to find himself near a shoreline. So he swam to the shore and was eventually rescued by the island's tribal men.
This is an extremely wonderful testimony.
It shows us that no circumstance can be too difficult for the Lord to show His grace upon us. What is important is whether we have the anchor that keeps us faithful to His promise.
However, there is a regretful ending to this testimony. Apparently, in a turn of events, this Indian Brother eventually got swayed by the wind of doctrine and cunning trickery of men and he defected to the Jehovah’s Witness.
What can we learn from this testimony? I believe that his faith in the Lord was genuine when he was in desperate situations. His prayers were heartfelt pleas to God to preserve him, which God did. At that time, his faith was true, his faith was sincere.
So what went wrong? This is where Ephesians 4:14 comes in, as we’ve read earlier.
1 Corinthians 10:12 gives us another indication and strong warning.
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
Today we may think we’re standing firm and doing well in our faith.
Yet how sure can we be?
-Who is to say that we won’t give in to temptations and sin?
-Who is to say that we can be sure of our faith in the Lord?
-Are we really that strong?
-Who measures the strength of our faith?
Is it ourselves? Or do we let the Word of God be the measure?
When the author of Hebrews mentions of the hope of salvation being the anchor of our soul, the key issue is whether the hope we have is sure and steadfast.
There is a quote that goes “Change is the only constant”.
Things change and they always do.
I've decided to put up the notes to share. Note that it has been edited to fit a blog-post style. Whether a cursory or thorough reading, I hope you are edified as much as I was in preparing it.
Do give me some pointers.
The theme for this quarter’s Youth Service is ‘Unchanging Truth & Faith in a Changing World’.
Admittedly, I encountered some difficulty in thinking of what to speak on. In the end, I decided on: ‘An Anchor of Our Faith’
_______________________________________________________
Many of us have faced times or situations where we were forced to make decisions. Being forced means that we felt constrained to make the decisions that would affect the sequence of events ahead and more importantly, the direction of our faith.
A simple MCQ :
How often has it been for you that you had to make some tough decisions about your faith? (A)Quite often? (B)Very often? If we belong to any of these 2 groups, we should count ourselves fortunate. Why so? Firstly, it’s because these 2 options are actually the same, really, meaning that we’re working hard at preserving our faith. But more importantly, it reflects that we are actively concerned with ensuring that our decisions will only affect our faith in a good way.
Now this is of paramount importance in our compromising world. When we see how much the morals and ethics of the world have regressed, there is a strong need to be proactive in maintaining a steadfast faith.
Sometimes, we may not realize it, but the slightest thing that we take part in can have some form of repercussions on our spirituality.
For example, the progress of technology is a great gain to us. But when we do not exercise enough caution, we may just let Satan deceive us into watching more TV, spending too much time in front of the computer, or fiddling around with our new techie toys too much. The clear implication here is that we let ourselves willingly be robbed of time which could have been dedicated to God.
Today's world is changing further beyond the realms of technology. Morals have sunk to new lows. Decadence and opulence have become the order of the day.
How do we remain steadfast in a changing world?
The Bible's counsel in Hebrews 6:19-20 reads:
“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,”
Here, the author of Hebrews mentions of an Anchor of the soul. This anchor is sure and steadfast, unmoving and unchanging. The anchor is the hope of our salvation and the future glory in the kingdom above. Anchors are attached to vessels.
It is interesting to note how the Bible describes our bodies as the Vessels of God. Since in another sense, a vessel can refer to a boat, a ship, or an ark even. So we are vessels of the Lord, sailing on the seas of the world today, do we have an anchor that is strong enough? Have we examined whether our hope is well-positioned to help us to remain rooted when calamity strikes?
Ephesians 4:14 serves to remind us of this danger:
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”
I recall of a testimony which I read and heard before:
There was an Indian brother who was Malaysian naval officer from Perak. He was sailing with the ship when he was mysteriously flung overboard in the middle of No-man’s Land. We can imagine how worrying it would be to get lost in a crowded place like a shopping centre, but this guy was lost in the ocean. He struggled to stay alive and had to fend off the attacks from jellyfish and predatory fishes.
Furthermore, the area where he was lost was famous for sharks! The brother struggled to stay afloat despite the rough seas and huge waves that pounded him from all sides. At one point he almost gave up, but his faith that God would save him, kept him from committing suicide.
Eventually he fainted but awoke to find himself near a shoreline. So he swam to the shore and was eventually rescued by the island's tribal men.
This is an extremely wonderful testimony.
It shows us that no circumstance can be too difficult for the Lord to show His grace upon us. What is important is whether we have the anchor that keeps us faithful to His promise.
However, there is a regretful ending to this testimony. Apparently, in a turn of events, this Indian Brother eventually got swayed by the wind of doctrine and cunning trickery of men and he defected to the Jehovah’s Witness.
What can we learn from this testimony? I believe that his faith in the Lord was genuine when he was in desperate situations. His prayers were heartfelt pleas to God to preserve him, which God did. At that time, his faith was true, his faith was sincere.
So what went wrong? This is where Ephesians 4:14 comes in, as we’ve read earlier.
1 Corinthians 10:12 gives us another indication and strong warning.
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
Today we may think we’re standing firm and doing well in our faith.
Yet how sure can we be?
-Who is to say that we won’t give in to temptations and sin?
-Who is to say that we can be sure of our faith in the Lord?
-Are we really that strong?
-Who measures the strength of our faith?
Is it ourselves? Or do we let the Word of God be the measure?
When the author of Hebrews mentions of the hope of salvation being the anchor of our soul, the key issue is whether the hope we have is sure and steadfast.
There is a quote that goes “Change is the only constant”.
Things change and they always do.
- The world environment changed after the Great Flood.
- Lot changed after he moved to Sodom.
- King Hezekiah changed after his life was given a time-extension and he became a fool.
- In Revelations, the church of Ephesus changed and left her first love.
People, Emotions, Surroundings change all the time. How can we remain steadfast to the promise of God?
To answer that, we must know that there is only one thing that is immutable.
The Word of God that was in the Beginning is still the same today as it was in the past. Jesus is the Word. Jesus doesn’t change.
When Jesus mentioned that He was the way, the truth, and the life, He was providing a way of hope to the lost sheep of the world.
He made that hope available 2000 years ago. Today that hope continues to be the ultimate goal of ours.
Thus we should always bear in mind that this hope of salvation has to be worked out in fear and trembling, just like how Paul exhorted the Philippians in Philippians 2:12.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”
Do not be like King Saul who lost sight of his hope when his heart changed to be filled with hatred and jealousy. His anchor was dislodged from the the truth and correct understanding of God.
The happenings and eventual outcome of the Indian naval officer also serve as a great warning to us that we must never be complacent in our faith.
We need to be strong, alert and aware of the changing world to ensure that we stand firm.
To ensure that we’re in the right path of hope, we have to look to the only source of hope - The Bible is the true anchor of our faith and the Hope of our salvation – God’s Word.
The times ahead are going to be even more uncertain. We need to remain in the pattern of sound words and traditions of the apostles. This was what Paul encouraged young Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:13-14. Remain in the hope of salvation by remaining in the doctrines and teachings of the Word of God.
Our Vessels are battleships in the raging seas of the world. The waves may shift and the tides may turn against us, but when we have the hope of salvation as an anchor of our faith, we would do well to resist the trickery of man and Satan.
Have we lost our direction of our hope? - Lower our anchor.
Fortify it with the strongest of materials by reading the bible and praying for the Holy Spirit’s in-filling.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Barnabas' Encouraging Act
On Sunday, Bro V shared a sermonette on Barnabas and how he was an exemplary encourager for us to learn from.
What caught my attention most was this particular point:
Barnabas accepted Mark even when Paul rejected him.
The insight:
1) When Paul was formerly Saul, he was the foremost of sinners, having persecuted and killed Christians. He was a barbaric pariah in their sight. Yet it was Barnabas who appected him with open arms and gave him a second chance.
2) Yet when it was young Mark's turn to become weak, though not to the extent of (S)Paul's former wickedness, Paul could not accept him.
It was Barnabas again, who gave Mark a second chance.
Barnabas never stopped encouraging others. Little wonder why should we as well.
Lord, please help us to be Sons of Encouragement
What caught my attention most was this particular point:
Barnabas accepted Mark even when Paul rejected him.
The insight:
1) When Paul was formerly Saul, he was the foremost of sinners, having persecuted and killed Christians. He was a barbaric pariah in their sight. Yet it was Barnabas who appected him with open arms and gave him a second chance.
2) Yet when it was young Mark's turn to become weak, though not to the extent of (S)Paul's former wickedness, Paul could not accept him.
It was Barnabas again, who gave Mark a second chance.
Barnabas never stopped encouraging others. Little wonder why should we as well.
Lord, please help us to be Sons of Encouragement
Friday, July 14, 2006
Post-Mortem on World Cup 2006
The FIFA World Cup 2006 recently concluded with a bang(head-bang actually), some fizzle and lots of passion. Curiously, this world cup will not be remembered for its winner - Italy, for that matter - but for the high drama that ensued in the final match.
Why oh why Mr Zidane?
That, though would not be the crux of this posting.
I choose to remember the World Cup 2006 for other aspects.
This World Cup was famous for the Coaches and Referees. There were some really good ones while others were just incorrigible. I choose to focus on the Coaches.
Coaches play an important role in gelling the team together. Without them, what you get are individuals, all eager to prove their own ability, without any concern for the team.
When a coach makes the right tactical decisions at the appropriate time, something fabulous may just occur.
When a coach is a good leader, he gets the whole team together, to lay aside their differences, and just for that magical moment, scale the heights of glory together as one formidable alliance.
The Good:
Germany sent the nation into a frenzy at No. 3,
France retained some glory at No. 2,
Australia dazzled our eyes in the knock-off stages,
Ghana did well to leave a memory of their determination.
The Bad:
England boasted, made empty promises, and played boring football,
Spain & Argentina looked promising until some bewildering tactical decisions,
Brazil was a shadow of its fomer self.
What went wrong for the losers? England et al were filled to the brim with promising players, rambunctious and eager to prove their youth. What proved their downfall however, were the gaffes in coaching tactics.
What went right for the winners? Germany was focussed and believed in reviving the nation's glory, Australia never said 'die', France proved their detractors wrong and showed that age and experience are essential, Ghana never showed their arrogance and remained humble to their roots. Above all, they had fantastic coaches.
_______________________________
What are your reflections on the posting so far? My main point is this:
We the chosen race of God, have Jesus our Lord as our coach.
He is our coach for life, He is our coach for death.
"For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide, Even to death" -Psalm 48:14
I, like all individuals, am often eager to prove my worth. Sometimes I forget that God is my guide, my coach. I've made wrong decisions, I've turned my ears away from Him, I've sinned against Him.
But each time I read this verse, I stand in awe of His promise and wonder.
He knows we are weak. But He never stops being our coach.
Even when we've lost the battles in the qualifying stages, He is still our guide.
Even when the Church is weak and without faithful prayers, He is the patient Groom who awaits the perfecting of His imperfect bride.
Often times, each of us has thought of himself better than others. But this is not to be so in God's church. We are a team. We need to gel together and never say 'die'.
With each passing day that we age, it brings experience that tells us we can only rely on God. When we've qualified for the world stage, we need to remain humble to our roots, lest we become proud and fall.
We are all members of His Body, and there "should be no schism in the body, but that the members have the same care for one another" - 1 Cor 12:25
Jesus is infallible. Our God is immutable. His can never make coaching gaffes like the human ones do. He has shown Himself to be the the truest guide and Commander to Ancient Israel, He will do the same for His spiritual army today.
One day we will all sing this song together, like Joshua did: "You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who fought for you." - Joshua 23:3
We all need Jesus as our guide, our coach.
Heed His counsel.
Why oh why Mr Zidane?
That, though would not be the crux of this posting.
I choose to remember the World Cup 2006 for other aspects.
This World Cup was famous for the Coaches and Referees. There were some really good ones while others were just incorrigible. I choose to focus on the Coaches.
Coaches play an important role in gelling the team together. Without them, what you get are individuals, all eager to prove their own ability, without any concern for the team.
When a coach makes the right tactical decisions at the appropriate time, something fabulous may just occur.
When a coach is a good leader, he gets the whole team together, to lay aside their differences, and just for that magical moment, scale the heights of glory together as one formidable alliance.
The Good:
Germany sent the nation into a frenzy at No. 3,
France retained some glory at No. 2,
Australia dazzled our eyes in the knock-off stages,
Ghana did well to leave a memory of their determination.
The Bad:
England boasted, made empty promises, and played boring football,
Spain & Argentina looked promising until some bewildering tactical decisions,
Brazil was a shadow of its fomer self.
What went wrong for the losers? England et al were filled to the brim with promising players, rambunctious and eager to prove their youth. What proved their downfall however, were the gaffes in coaching tactics.
What went right for the winners? Germany was focussed and believed in reviving the nation's glory, Australia never said 'die', France proved their detractors wrong and showed that age and experience are essential, Ghana never showed their arrogance and remained humble to their roots. Above all, they had fantastic coaches.
_______________________________
What are your reflections on the posting so far? My main point is this:
We the chosen race of God, have Jesus our Lord as our coach.
He is our coach for life, He is our coach for death.
"For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide, Even to death" -Psalm 48:14
I, like all individuals, am often eager to prove my worth. Sometimes I forget that God is my guide, my coach. I've made wrong decisions, I've turned my ears away from Him, I've sinned against Him.
But each time I read this verse, I stand in awe of His promise and wonder.
He knows we are weak. But He never stops being our coach.
Even when we've lost the battles in the qualifying stages, He is still our guide.
Even when the Church is weak and without faithful prayers, He is the patient Groom who awaits the perfecting of His imperfect bride.
Often times, each of us has thought of himself better than others. But this is not to be so in God's church. We are a team. We need to gel together and never say 'die'.
With each passing day that we age, it brings experience that tells us we can only rely on God. When we've qualified for the world stage, we need to remain humble to our roots, lest we become proud and fall.
We are all members of His Body, and there "should be no schism in the body, but that the members have the same care for one another" - 1 Cor 12:25
Jesus is infallible. Our God is immutable. His can never make coaching gaffes like the human ones do. He has shown Himself to be the the truest guide and Commander to Ancient Israel, He will do the same for His spiritual army today.
One day we will all sing this song together, like Joshua did: "You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who fought for you." - Joshua 23:3
We all need Jesus as our guide, our coach.
Heed His counsel.
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