God's Timing

And while they were there, the time came for her delivery, And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room or place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6, 7 AMP)

The time came! Not perceptually- because the Savior came with a capital "S", but was nothing like superman. Weak and vulnerable He came.
Not logically- because the Savior came at a time when there isn't even room for one, but He came anyway because the world needs Him.

God's timing is not about the best explanation of why and how. The right timing shouldn't be sign or pursuit-based. It should be embraced-based!

My feelings are often unreliable (Rick Warren, 2014). The timing never seem right at Jesus's birth, but because Jesus came the time became right! Take Jesus out of the picture, and the entire nativity story becomes a hoax!

Obedience isn't about knowing God's plan and then doing accordingly; obedience is about knowing God and then do everything driven by a desire to please God. If we keep saying Christianity is a relationship then the way we relate should reflect that. God's plan is a means to please God, not a blueprint to robotically restrain people.

Today many don't live and work from freedom because of a perceptual imposing notion of "I'm not hearing God right". Fear seeps in, frustration seeps in, disillusion seeps in. Working in faith gets chained up with many "what ifs".
Paul wanted to go to Asia Minor, and it took an angelic interception to change his path; David proposed to build a temple for God. Two of the most inspiring figures in the bible had rooms to practice free will and "do what they want" instead of being always overwhelmed by a constant ponderous indecisiveness.

Am I saying that we shouldn't pray then? By no means, but like how David and Paul walked out their prayer lives, relate with God in every words we utter. In His Word, He told us to ask on many occasions so we should ask, but because we genuinely don't know. Otherwise, know God and love God, the rest should fall into place. 

Anyway, be very careful. I'm not sure how clear or how people might misinterpret it. I'm not advocating presumptions, and loving God and knowing God should not become excuses for impatience, laziness to pray etc. in fact, knowing God (fearing God) is the beginning of wisdom. If anything, those things should lead us to praying more, and desiring to know Him deeper!

Prophetic Run Thanksgiving

"IF there is one thing that all of us should remember, I want all of us to remember God's providence- His generous providence through it out."

In the days leading down to race day, I said many things, but no amount of crediting measured up to His outpouring- HIS GRACE. 

2013 November, a routined email from one of the runs threw me into a state of excitement. For more details, refer to the following link: Run For God. 

Amount pledged: 1000SGD

As of 14 February, the target has been reached via the combined sum from the likes of shirt sales and monetary contributions. God has provided in big and small ways with stranger dropping email to pledge, mysterious multiplication of the number of shirts, favor with people, cheap printing which halved the production cost and so on. 

Even for the run, it was a significant breakthrough for many of us- with my sister breaking her first ever 10km run, and Alvin and myself conquering our first 21km. Each of us carried prayer requests from both our dear ones and that which God laid upon our heart, and as we took the strides and advanced, each of us held unto His Kingdom and dragged it along with us. It was literally "Your Kingdom come!" And as we did the run prophetically, it is symbolical of huge breakthroughs in the various areas in our lives, and we firmly believe and hang onto that!

Finally, mega thankful for people who came alongside to support this in one way or the other- the supporters, money contributor, intercessors and everyone else! 

Next Monday I'm probably going to deliver the donation to Tamar Village. Will keep all updated again<3

Remember your purpose!

Galatians 3:4

"Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain?"

Valentine's Reflection (Love that One)

Ideal ways are well, ideal, but sometimes an ideal option may not be the best option. 

Simply because uncontrollable factors reign in our lives, and being in an uncontrolled situation is a marker for trust (relinquishing control and saying that "I don't know better").

What would you do if you fall in love with a non-believer? Some say oh I would not commit, I would share my faith with him/her, and then I would bring him/her to church. Hopefully he/she is open and receptive enough to find out more, and it would be ideal if he/she subsequently comes to know Jesus for him/herself rather than for the boy/girlfriend. Everyone knows what ought to follow: then the he/she will suddenly have a burst in his/her walk with God, and then suddenly match up to my depth of faith, and we would get married, and we would complement each other so well, that the Kingdom of God will be glorified through our family. Oh did I forget to add, both of us would raise the family so well, that it will become the epitome of a Godly marriage. 

Ideal? Sounds awesome? Definitely!

But I personally find this challenging and view upon it as the beginning of a compromise, a teeny weeny small one. Doesn't it sound like an excuse to bypass an explicit law to 2 Corinthians 6:14. The speakers got it spot on to say that the law is to protect and to free rather than to control and restrain, but it's funny how this gave way so easily at the slightest nudge/attempt to "make it sound more encompassing". 

Granted, in our midst there are living and glowing examples to justify the above, but I also think it's a huge discredit to God's grace at work, when anything could have gone wrong through the whole journey, but His grace stretched further still. It is perhaps self-righteous to claim any bits of credits to say that I hung on, I continued to believe, I always prayed for him/her, I continue to hope, etc.  And even more so, to think that we could handle it when it comes. I tell you, we can't! At least, I can't! There are people who can, but most can't! 

In an age where many stands driven by passion and feelings, it becomes ever more important to teach about the protective and freeing nature of the law, than to find the most socially and logically acceptable solution to perhaps weave past explicit no-nos. 

Am I saying that God's grace won't be sufficient for that, and what He has done before He wouldn't do again? No! But what I am saying is we should not abuse God's grace! Romans 6:1. 

Evangelism is a good thing, and it's God's design for men's living, but a romantic relationship is not a tool for that, in any sense. 

Now take God's grace out of the picture. If the guy never comes to Christ, then what are we gonna do. We can always say that oh well, I didn't commit so I'm safe, maybe. But how many of us are aware that reaching out to a friend and reaching out to someone we like, are very different? Even without official status, or the so-called commitments, who can be certain that they could overcome their passions/feelings? We saw in our midst who would consciously choose go with their feelings even when they are not under the influence of those, so is romantic evangelism really safe? Anyway, in the midst of all the struggles to not commit, one may even begin to doubt "am I trying to win him/her for Christ, or for myself?"

I think faithful shining examples of how people continually battle and remind themselves that hey this is not what God has for them, shed powerful insights of how grace is the one that sustains. Otherwise, as much as we are concern Proverbs 4:23 and 2 Timothy 2:22 provide good enough advice that for me are the best. Never ever to apply one good thing out of context into another. Once again, romance is not an avenue for evangelism!

What I would do:

If it ever happens, stop yourself, restrain yourself. Literally, flee (2 Timothy 2:22). Subjecting yourself to something which we have an appetite for has two possibilities: sensitization or habituation. If it's the latter, then perhaps it's good, so that we can concentrate on our "evangelism efforts". But more often than not, for something that we need to restrain ourselves from, we are sensitized, and we want it more. And yes, you guessed it, we probably would compromise in the end, and justify ourselves with a whole bunch of out-of-context things. 

Flee is the best option, to protect ourselves, and if we truly love them (with Christ's love), to protect them as well. I was a victim myself, and once again it was God's grace that I am where I am today. I could have turned my back to the faith because it was really sucky. That kinda hurt! If things don't work out in the end (even if we never commit), are we going to turn cold towards him/her and move on to "evangelize" others. That in itself is another form of commitment already by the way. 

Therefore to end it off, lest you are 100% sure that your heart is guarded (which by the way should probably also mean that you never would fall for a non-believer), I would never ever encourage risking romance and evangelism. 

Pengalaman Yang Tidak Terlupakan

Tahun terakhir, saya bersama gereja saya dan gereja SJSM (St John’s St Margaret’s) ke Indonesia untuk membantu masyarakat. Kami mengikuti Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat (LSM) HAND di kota Kupang. Di sana, kami memberikan pemeriksaan kesehatan gratis dan mendistribusikan kebutuhan dasar. 

Meskipun perjalannya hanya selama empat hari, setiap hari sibuk sekali karena jadwalnya sangat penuh. Hari-hari biasa, kami akan dibagi menjadi tiga kelompok. Kemudian, kelompoknya akan mengunjungi tiga tempat yang beda dan mendirikan tenda di desa itu bagi pemeriksaan kesehatan. 

Perjalan semacam ini ada pertama kali saya. Sebenarnya, saya sudah banyak kali pergi ke negara seperti Thailand dan bagian lain di Indonesia sebagai utusan Injil, tapi itu yang pertama kali saya benar-benar masuk sebuah desa. 

Saya ingat dengan jelas pada hari kedua, kami harus mengunjungi tempat pembuangan sampah. Waktu kami masuk daerah itu, bau yang kuat segera mengisi busnya. Salah satu teman saya bahkan hampir muntah. Saya benar-benar tidak bisa membayangkan ada orang-orangnya tinggal di sana. Tempat itu tidak hanya busuk, tapi juga kotor dan berbahaya karena anak-anaknya tidak pakai sepatu, jadi kalau kena luka bisa menyebabkan infeksi. 

Seluruh anggota kelompok menjadi hati berat setelah melihat penghidupan warga. Kami sangat tenang. Sambil kami sedang mendirikan daerah itu, orang-orangnya memulai datang. Banyak dari mereka adalah ibu dengan anak-anaknya, berberapa anak datang dengan kakaknya, yang termuda adalah semuda 8 tahun. 

Sambil menunggu giliran, saya boleh bercakap dengan pasien itu. Walaupun bahasa Indonesia saya belum lancer, mereka bisa mengerti saya. Karena saya dengar gereja lokal secara teratur datang ke sana untuk mengajar anak-anaknya mengenai cerita Alkitab dan menyanyi lagu-lagu pujian, saya minta tolong mereka menyanyi untuk kami. Mereka setuju. Sesudah duduk bersandar dinding, mereka mulai. Walaupun mereka miskin sekali, mereka masih bisa menyanyi dan berkata “Ku mau cinta Yesus selamanya”. Ini yang pengalaman yang paling tidak terlupakan saya.

Purpose-driven Run

Greetings to all who are here for one reason or the other,

Judah, a bondservant of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has been called and given a vision to usher in His Kingdom.

In conjunction with the prophetic run that is going to happen on the 15th February, themed "Light Up the Nite", I will also be doing a fund raising. As I was preparing for the run, I got led to adopt a ministry that intentionally reaches out to the prostitutes as the beneficiary. Tamar Village stood out as a ministry in this respect. I got acquainted with a number of ministries in the Geylang area in accordance with God's perfect timing and assignment, and after deliberate pondering and discussions with these ministries, I've arrived at the conclusion that Tamar Village ministry would benefit greatly from monetary contribution. 

Tamar Village is a ministry that puts up deliberate initiatives as attempts to get the ladies off the street, by providing training and employment opportunities. Please click here for more information about Tamar Village.

The fund raising will be done via the following means:

1. Tee Shirt Sales:

One of the major reasons why the beneficiary that I sought after was specifically one that reaches out to the street ladies was because of the theme of the prophetic run: "Light Up the Nite". I believe this is all in congruence, the shirt design, the run, the initiative. As such, I'll be launching a Tee-Shirt Sales to garner support for this movement for a small profit which will go in full sum toward the monetary contribution. 

The design is as attached below: 

2. Fund Raising

Alternatively, you can also show your support for this movement via tangible acts of making monetary contribution which will go directly to the works in Tamar Village. 

3. Prayer

We are a group of people who believe strongly that prayers change and move things, so please do join us in prayer. The running group is a small group of about 10 people, and we have received various things for the run- and one of these is the 7 spheres of influence (media, education, religion, government and law, arts and entertainment, family, business). In conjunction with this interpretation, I receive a vision like this: 

A step that makes all the difference:
a splash of 7 colors!

I have set a personal target as to how much I hope to raise for the ministry, and I would like to extend the invitation to all who desire to make a difference in this often neglected part of Singapore. For keen parties, do contact me at risen.fallen@hotmail.com, and let me know your preferred mode(s) of contribution. 

God bless you abundantly in all that you do, and bless you for your generous heart to give! Amen!

In Christ's amazing love,

Judah

~Matthew 25:40

"The King will answer and say to them, 'truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."~

HeartCry

I am looking for a tune to these words that I've written about 1 month back. It's a little atypical set of lyrics, irregular word counts, and super lengthy, but I'm not inclined to change any of the words. 
I'm praying for someone who catches the heart of this song to come along and give it a beautiful tune such that these words can minister to anyone who is on a difficult crossroad in life. 
Please drop me an email at risen.fallen@hotmail.com if possible. Thank you so much!
May the goodness of my God pour out unto your life, and multiply manifold gifts and fruits as you steward well what that which has already been given to you! Much grace and much joy, in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Verse 1

Sometimes my heart wells;

Life circumstances made me ponder;

Why in life a hundred wails,

A thousand weeps;

And many more mourn their hearts.

Pre-chorus

Crying, I've had enough;

Stopping to try;

Closing my eyes;

My door slams shut, but You open a way.

Chorus

You saw me from afar,

You caught me and I was thrown into Your embrace;

Healing my wounds, soothing my hearts,

By Your stripes, I am made new;

Jesus You made me whole again.

Verse 2

Yesterday my eyes swells;

Pain and sorrows stole love's wonder;

Moving on tears heart apart,

I couldn't linger;

To come unstuck, I trust in Your heart.

Verse 3

Since before time Your love compels;

Hope and joy, You promised answers;

By faith and not by my sight,

Your joy is my strength;

In Your Word, I want to believe.

Chorus 2

What could have destroyed my faith; 

I learnt to trust not doubt, knowing Your wonderful plan;

You have promised; You have first loved,

By Your grace, I've been restored;

Jesus You made me whole again.

Bridge

I'll sing You prises;

I'll lift up Your name;

I'll declare Your love;

I'll love like You do.

The Unfair God (the partner in the partnership)

"No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once." 

— Oswald J. Smith 

I probably would not be able to fully comprehend until I see for my own, and experience for myself- the kind of thrown-off. When all-time top-Christian-seller Rick Warren lost his son to suicide, when 911 took away the love of many, when people of Rwanda lived through the nightmare of genocide, and many man-made atrocities that haunt the history of... men. Yet, untimely christian reminders ring in our ears, "God so love the world that He gave His only Son..." In moments like these, I did not hear hope, but instead the rubbing of salt on wounds, raw wounds. 

Even if I had wanted to believe... I mean... so many natural marvels, the distant stars in the sky, the vastness of the universe which made me feel so small, and even that solo piece of memory when I was touring an exotic countryside when the sun rose against the backdrop of the blazing horizon... Surely, that must be the intentional works of someone/something beyond. If believing in what we do not see is tough, then attributing all these to opportunistic probabilities requires even more faith...

But... for as far as I remember, well-meaning Christians have come around in sincere intention and hope of pointing me toward God, but instead turned me away. Unanswered questions raged within me, and doubts became anger... If He truly exists, and if He truly loves me, then why... Could it be that He doesn't love me enough... With each piece of news constantly reminding us of an uncompassionate God, I became more cynical... Then, I'm better off on my own... Perhaps it's true...

Stop telling me it's alright when my favorite dog passed away. Clearly it isn't.

Stop quoting me bible verses and tell me things like the joy of the Lord shall be my strength when I'm quashed and dampened. Frankly, I don't care about the joy of the Lord when I can't even cope to make it pass "not sad" myself. 

And did you ever realize, every time you say "I understand", I really want to say "shut up!" because you really don't... 

These are all not true...

First of all, I want to apologize to all if I had been guilty of any of those. I haven't been a real friend, and I haven't been available, and I have not been sensitive enough to care about your true needs, and I have selfishly stuffed you with what I thought were good. I was a pig, but truly, I haven't known better.

ABOVE ALL, I apologize for not having represented my God well. I have done Him a huge injustice and an even huger disservice by acting the ways I did before. Please forgive me. 

God is Good: No Doubt!

Before I began, I want to say that for every bad thing that tainted our journey in life and made it harder than anyone should ever endure, I am sorry. I truly am. I cannot provide good reasons to explain why each of these tragedies has to happen. It's even more difficult when within the Christian circle we always declare that God is all-knowing, everything is in His control, and things only happen if God allows them to. These are anger-inducing. And many hearts are roaring, "THEN WHY?!?" The wake of the rape cases in India shook my convictions before. What kind of purpose, WHAT KIND OF PURPOSE warrants an innocent girl being ripped apart the way she has been... WHAT KIND OF DIVINE PURPOSE?!

(at this point, can I ask for absolute patience and finish the remaining parts of the article? Give me a chance, and give God a chance...)

These are all true, but they are only true in parts. And when these understanding of God are used to explain situation in the world by formulating our own conclusions like those that I have ranted about above, they do not coincide with the God whom I know, whom I have a relationship with. In fact, they contradict so much that either HAS TO be wrong!

Taking off from where I stopped in my previous post about waiting on God, I do have a certain understanding and conviction about who this God is. He is love (1 John 4:8), He came to give life to the fullest (John 10:10), He is a friend (John 15:15), He wants us to be filled with joy and hope, He works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), He has a good plan to prosper us and not harm us (Jeremiah 29:11), and the list goes on. 

And it is so important that we stand rooted and firm in our conviction about our understanding of who this lovely Father is, because the house that has been built on weak foundations will not be able to withstand the attacks in the world, and when the waves come, the house collapse. 

I do not offer an explanation of what I do not know, but what I do know, I hang by them, and I strongly believe that this is how I have been able to continue on this narrow path. Frankly, it has not been easy, except by the grace of God. 

It was even more painful for God.

Having established that, I want to propose this... 

Recall the saddest, most painful experiences ever. It could be a breaking relationship, the passing of a loved one, disappointment with life circumstances, broken promise(s), betrayal... anything. With no intended disregard, can I suggest that in those moments, that amount of hurt that took place within us... Multiply by N times, and that's about what God felt. Cowboy Logan has a sweet understanding of this. He understands, and He will always understand... 

This is easy to articulate, but difficult to comprehend. I probably cannot say this with the same amount of ease when time calls for such conviction to stand strong, but I must declare that "absolute Truth is not contingent on the level of conviction one displays. It is not even contingent on life circumstances, or how things may seem at that moment. If I say that the Truth is my bedrock and my foundation, then when I sway in my stance, the Truth is precisely where I will cling on to to stay anchored, which I ought to have established long before. Truths that sway are not absolute truth because when our circumstance changes, our conviction shifts, and we begin to question. In the latter, the bedrock and the foundation is the self, and "truth" is just a nice word used to increase one's perceived spirituality."

Remember, He always understands and He doesn't just understand, He cares... (Someone who is strong and capable of managing their hurt doesn't mean that they are hurt less. They may seem to be so, but that's not true). I reject any notion of aloneness in the name of Jesus. "God has forsaken us is a complete lie!

When we look on world's tragedy with compassion, also know that He sees it before us, He feels it before us, He has plan for better before us. 

The partner in the partnership.

If those were true, then why... It is very easy to point finger. In fact, way easier than to take responsibility. I think it is about time we rise up in a mature manner to take some responsibility. In the light of free will and empowerment, can we all recognize that perhaps we are partially responsible for all these? History spans over a ridiculous amount of time that stretches beyond record, and at some junctures, there must be some sort of overlap, some sort of intertwining, some sort of entanglement, some sort of ripple effects. A friend once commented, "if every single human does only what God asks of us to do, and live according to His will, then everything would be fine." I feel like adding, if that is truly the case, Jesus can return now, like seriously now. I know that this would potentially open up another floodgate with regards to predestination and free will- like if that's the case, then don't say that He's fully in control, because clearly He's not. Well, once again I have no answer to justify this apparent obsession with the keeping of a promise or the preservation of free will, which if overlooked could mean many more souls being saved from the wrath of eternal burning. IF God really loves all, why that kind of priority: why free will over 100% salvation? I don't know, but this free will must be really important, and when I look at films featuring robotic minions, I think I understand 1% of what without free will would look like. 

Therefore, if we look at some and ask God why the African kids have to starve, why the girl has to experienced raped, why the accident has to occur, here's something to think about/ask ourselves? Have I done anything to alleviate world poverty, have I done anything to improve security in my neighborhood, have I done enough to ensure road safety? It may not be entirely my responsibility, but it has to be someone's responsibility. Look through the internet for inspirational stories and see how God moved in those hurtful moments, and reflect on our own actions. Mother Teresa famously said this "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." It has to start from someone, so why not us?

If you start off reading this article expecting to find an answer as to why bad things happen in the world, and why God allows them, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I cannot provide you with an answer that I do not know, but what I do know, I share and to me these are sufficient convictions to help me look beyond these problems, which in the first place are only hypothesis/suggestions, and at best unfounded allegations against my God. 

Finally, God loves everyone the same. The perceived difference could be because someone somewhere hid away that portion of God's love that God had meant to pour out through them.