The Harvest

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."- Luke 6:38

Give and it will be given unto you. During the retreat at Dad's place last week, he was wearing a shirt from 1995, which was the year of harvest.

For the same measure that you give, it shall be given unto you. As I prepare myself to enter the 100K challenge to bless people. I pray that the seeds of life and blessings that I sow into the people will bear fruit for the harvest. The fruit that I sow may not be seen or known by me but by the Father above.

Without waving, let us hold tightly to the faith that we say we have, for the lord can be trusted to keep his promise.- Hebrews 10:23

Last week, I have been busy going to the hospital as Victor had a high fever and was hospitalised. During the time, I went up to help pray for some of the patients there. One of the patients was Victor's friend who wished to be known by Ong.

He was diagnosed with leukemia 2 years back and has been in and out of the hospital for 2 years now. Although his facial expressions was happy, I could sense that deep down inside, there was great insecurity for his future and finances to carry on his treatment. To him, he was trying his best to be happy and live each day to his fullest since the future seems hopeless to him.

I pray that my time and prayers for him would plant a seed of security and of a future for him even if the future seems bleak as the Lord's plans for him is of good and not of disaster, for a future and for hope.

I believe in the lord that this seed of hope planted in him will continue to grow till the harvest when he will become truely joyful as he knows that the future for him is not bleak but shining brightly for the Lord.

Until then, I pray that I will be strengthened by the Lord's glorious power so that I will have all the patience and endurance I need and I will be filled with joy to continue watering and tending to Word I've planted into peoples' lives till the harvest comes.

“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley

Battlefield 2007- Day 1

Hudson Taylor

Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote:

Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning… He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all… Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.

Our Daily Bread, May 16, 1992

Yesterday, I was reminded of God's providence for the people in Egypt. Today, I was reminded that God's work done in his way will never lack his supply.

The main fight for today was going to be the preparation of starch in the afternoon for the night walk that night. Logistics was going to be a big headache. We had to prepare at least 4 pails of starch for the night walk with just 3 kettles and just a few people. The worst thing was that we did not have a car to bring the equipment to Touch Centre to make the starch.

We had to make the starch by about 5pm to ensure that the starch would cool down for the walk in the night.

So at about 3, we made off for Touch Centre carrying all the pails to touch centre to make the starch but when we reached there, to our horror, we realised that we missed out on the most important part of the plan. THE STARCH!!!

Immediately, I got a trolley from NTUC and we ran all the way back to campsite as by now, we were really in a rush for time. The distance back to campsite was about a 20 min run from Touch Centre. I was really impressed by the dedication Shawn had as he ran all the way back with the trolley. But even then, by the time, we started on the starch, it was already about 4pm.

However, as we were making the starch, we came upon a problem.

No matter how we tried, we could not produce the transloosen glue that Julee wanted for the night walk. It was getting late and it was kind of frustrating as no matter how hot the water was or how much flour we used, we just could not get it. Eventually, we had to make do with the pastey white 'starch' we had.

Thank God that we did not have to transport the pails of hot paste back to the campsite by NTUC trolley again as Nick came to our rescue with his car and he helped to move the starch back to camp. Eventually, we just managed to pull it off by the time allocated. Time for part 2 of the battle which was to make sure that there was enough starch throughout the night.

During the walk, Sean started up a some fire by the drain to cook water to make more starch. Julee was adamant that we can make the transloosen glue for the night but similar to the events in the afternoon, it just could not be done.

But by God's grace, we kind of produced something out of some weird freak accident that seemed to be worse than the glue that we meant to make in the first place. It was more of an extremely sticky muah chee made of tapioca starch and it totally served the purpose in the camp as many were using it in the camp to create the effect that we wanted.

By the end of the day, I was totally beat but I could see that the whole day could not be possible without God's intervention. God provided us with strength to last the day and the starch from heaven. I could see that God has a plan for the camp. It is not my will but his will be done. The night walk was a great success although from our end, it was a big mess. Things was not organised. We forgot the starch. There was no arrangement for a vehicle to transport the starch but through God's grace. Everything came through.

I'll end this with another famous verse in the bible.

Mar 10:27
Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God.”

P.S By the way, the transloosen glue had to be made by either corn flour or rice flour which none of us bought. We used corn flour and plain bread flour instead. :)

“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley

Battlefield 2007- Day 0

Exo 14:15-16 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. And as for you, lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground.


Its Day zero of Battlefield 2007. Being in charge of logistics, we had to be at the campsite a day earlier to set up the logistics and take care of the equipment for the night.

We had to take turns in the night staying up to keep guard over the equipment.

To be truthful, that night, I was quite worried over the logistics for the camp as I was unsure whether all the equipment was throughly prepared for the camp and if I had left out anything. I decided to take a short break and left the pavilion to sit by the seaside.

I used to stay at East Coast so I had seen the sea many times. But that night, God reassured me as I took a break by the seaside.

' Son, do you remember Moses?' He split the Red Sea that was much bigger than the one that you see before you now. And all he had to do was to lift his staff and extend his hand over the sea. I did the difficult part. I parted the Red Sea.'

Right then, I knew that I could trust the Lord for everything in the camp when I remember the magnitude of the logistics that Moses had to deal with when he left Egypt.

Moses and the people were in the desert, but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 2 to 3 million people requires a lot of food.

The people needed 2,000 tons -- four million pounds -- of food each day.

To bring that much food each day, would require three freight trains each a mile long!

In the desert they needed firewood to cook and keep warm. Each day this would take 4,000 tons -- eight million pounds -- of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long.

Of course, they needed water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take 11 million gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars 1,800 miles long, just to bring water!

And then another thing: They had to get across the Red Sea in one night. If they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through.

So, there had to be an opening in the Red Sea, 3 miles long so that they could walk 5,000 abreast to get over in one night.

Each time they camped at the end of the day, they needed a campground two-thirds the size of the State of Rhode Island, about 750 square miles.

They journeyed in the desert forty years.

Do you think Moses worked all this out before he left Egypt?


The Lord is Jehovah Jireh. Our Great Provider. As he provides for his people that many years ago in the desert, what more will he provide for the camp.

What more will he provide for our lives!

As I stand in awe at the beach, I stand secured in his arms as I know that the Lord is the Great Provider of my life.

“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley

Brokenness

Ok, to start Liverpool lost to AC Milan 2-1 last night. Firstly, I would like to thank Gabriel for offering to pray for me last night. Really appreciate it but I understand God's hand in the whole game even in soccer.

To start, for Liverpool to enter the Champion's League Final ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United who finished the league 15 and 21 points respectively ahead of them (ahem) is already God's Grace and I thank him for that.

Secondly, the Lord is showing the team that it is necessary to be humble and be broken in order for greater works to appear in the team. Recently, I have noticed that the team have become arrogant in some aspects of the game and I believe God has to do some surgery in them as well.

This then brings me to ponder upon the issue of brokenness which has been mentioned by PS Khong last Sunday.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." -Psalm 51:17.

Have you been injured in sports before?

Maybe a broken ankle or a dislocated shoulder from tennis?

I know I have injured my ankle many times when I was playing basketball in the past. But if you ask anyone, they would tell you that the worst injuries suffered in sports would be a broken part of the body. In the case of Cisse, it is a broken leg.

Years back, my brother suffered from a broken hand due to soccer when he was in secondary school. My father used to console him that a broken hand when healed will become stronger that what it used to be and this theory has actually been confirmed by doctors in the hospital.

Praise the Lord!

When God breaks you, he makes you stronger through his grace. I remember how I came to know the lord in the army. It was also due to a broken bone in my body, a broken finger to be exact.

Through a broken finger, the Lord took me out of BMT and put me in a situation where I had the time to come to know the lord through the people that he put around me and the opportunity to be a blessing to others in my camp. Through a broken finger, he showed me that I could not just rely on myself to get myself places in the army, not my results or my physical fitness.

When I tried on my own strength to go for my recourse and be a commander during my NS days when I recovered, the lord had to show me again that that was not my purpose in the army by giving me chicken pox during my first book out in my recourse, ( ironically, it was spread to me by my friend whom I brought to
church over the weekend), forcing me to return to Hendon camp to be a storeman for the rest of my army days.

When I came to realize that my results or achievements mean nothing as opposed to the greater designs that God has for my life, I understood that my calling and purpose in life can no longer be fulfiled by just achieving good results. I had to place my life in God's hands and just trust him for my life.I had to accept that God has a plan for me by placing me in the Commando Camp and I thank God for the blessings and I had to be broken not once but twice by God to show me his plan for my NS days.

Have you had a time in your life when you wanted something but the lord gave you something else? Maybe the Lord has something better for you and he just wants you to circumsize your future to him.

I know and I thank the Lord for the time of brokenness that he gave to me during my army days and I know that the continual breaking and repairing of my spiritual bones will make me stronger spiritually just like how a broken bone becomes stronger when healed.

I thank God for breaking me and I pray that the Lord will give you a powerful experience too. Amen.

“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley

Obedience and Legalism

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28)

Even so faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17)

What is the difference between obeying God and legalism?

Legalism is following the word of God but so is obeying the Lord but why does the Bible always carry a bad annotation to the word legalism?

Reading through Romans today, I came upon the answer to the question.

The difference is in the heart. Obeying the Lord comes from grace. Works done in obedience is an expression of Love to the lord because you have been saved by the grace of God. However, legalism is works done to earn the grace of God.

Sometimes, I feel that I am doing some things out of legalism rather than out of obedience. Why do you spend your weekday nights for youth meetings or weekends for church and meetings? Is it because you have to do it like how Maybelle and Jess feels that if you do not believe in the bible you will go to hell?

Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Do you always have to find time in your life for God? Whether is it to do your quiet time early in the morning or finding time to read the bible?

I believe that the key issue is not the reading of the bible in the day or the doing of the quiet time that determines your relationship with God? It is the attitude or the heart that draws you to read the bible or do your quiet time in the morning. Why do you do your reflections or for me, writing this blog in the middle of the night? Sharing my daily thoughts and reflections to people that maybe reading the blog, maybe my friends, my people in the cell?

I'm praying that its coming out of a heart of gratitude for the lord who has saved me through grace and me wanting to share the faith with others that are reading rather than just trying to glorify myself or trying to get into God's good books by earning salvation which is in fact already given to me due to God's grace.

My prayer for the day is that the people of Christ would do good works out of grace that overflows from them rather than being forced to do good works to earn their right to heaven. And that the lord would bless us whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered ; whom the lord will never count against sin.(Romans 4:7-8). Amen.


“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley

Bridge to Terabithia

Today, I went to watch this show with my dad at Golden village today expecting it to be another graphic based children story like Chronicles of Narnia. In some aspects, it was similar but largely different.

About the background of the movie:
The show was based on a story written by Katerine Paterson in 1977. Paterson won a Newbery award for the book and there were surprising moments of spiritual dialogue in the film. I looked up her wiki profile, and found that she’s born to missionary parents. And thinking back now, there are much to ponder about regarding the story.

Spoilers Alert:

It’s a story of two young teens, Jess and Leslie, who don’t fit in at school in small town USA. Leslie recently moved in beside Jess and they become friends who imagine an alternative reality called Terabithia in the forest behind their houses. Through the movie, there is a constant conflict between imagination and realism of life.

At one point in the movie, Leslie accompanies Jess and his family to church (she’s never been to church before). After church, the scene is Jess, Leslie, and Jess’ younger sister - Maybelle in the back of a pick-up truck driving home.

Here’s the conversation:

Leslie: I’m really glad I came, that whole Jesus thing, it’s really interesting, isn’t it?

Maybelle: It’s not interesting, it’s scary. It’s nailing holes through your hands because we’re all vile sinners. I made Jesus die.

Leslie: You really think that’s true?

Jess: It’s in the Bible, Leslie.

Leslie: You have to believe it and you hate it. I don’t have to believe it and I think it’s beautiful.

Maybelle: You gotta believe the Bible, Leslie.

Leslie: Why?

Maybelle: Because if you don’t believe in the Bible, God will damn you to hell when you die.

Leslie: Wow Maybelle, where did you hear that?

Maybelle: That’s right, huh Jess? God damns you to hell if you don’t believe in the Bible.

Jess: I think so.

Leslie: Well I don’t think so. I seriously do not think God goes around damning people to hell. He’s too busy running all this (arms wide open, stretched out to the sky).

What do you see in the picture above? Ugliness or Beauty?

Some times I wonder, why do we believe in Jesus? Is it because we fear what after-life has for us, that we will be 'damned' to hell if we do not believe in him?

Just recently, I was chatting to a friend over the phone. He had been a Christian for some time but he had a similar thinking as to Maybelle in the story. He felt that God was 'sadistic' and we had no choice but to believe in him or else we will go to hell. Its either God or Hell. No choice at all.

I remember the first time I came to service when I was in secondary 3. It happened that that day, the sermon was on Revelation. It was of the signs that the world was coming to an end. During that sermon, there was a conflict within me.

The same question kept on popping up in my mind.

Heaven or Hell?

Jesus or Satan?

Redemption or Death?

Not much choice there isn't it. But what if we see the story of Christ from another aspect just like Leslie in the story.

The bible suddenly becomes beautiful or what Christ did for you on the cross and that through his death we have received salvation. Isn't the idea and concept of him sacrificing himself to save you just beautiful. The open mind of Leslie had helped her to see beyond the physical brutality of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. If we see the story from her view, doesn't it just make you want to come to Jesus.

Another key theme in the story is about imagination and realism of life.

Quoted from an interview with the writer Paterson:

There's a trend lately to provide books and films for Christian audiences that are "safe for the whole family." Perhaps your books have been challenged because they're not necessarily "safe" for children. What do you make of the idea that children's books should be "safe"?

Paterson: Well, don't give them the Bible, then, because it's certainly not a safe book. Safety and faith are different things. If you want everything to be safe, then you can probably just totally do without the imagination. If you're so afraid of your imagination that you stifle it, how are you going to know God? How can you imagine heaven?

Maybe in Singapore, this is a question that we all have to ask ourselves. Are we stifling the imagination of children when they are young?

We have been forced to go through an education which is extremely results-orientated with no room for creativity. We experience the realism of life before the beauty of life itself. We see the realism of the crucifixion before the beauty and significance of the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross.


We are safe if we do not trust God for the miracles in our lives. We are safe if we do not take the step of faith. But if we go deep, we will be able to look far with an open mind, we dare to imagine of heaven on earth and that would lead us to dream big.

Think, for a moment, of our Lord’s wounds on the cross. They are beautiful. The crown of thorns on Jesus’ head is beautiful because of why Jesus wore it: he wore it for love; he wore it so that we could be forgiven for the sins we commit in our thoughts. The holes in his hands are beautiful because they bring us forgiveness for the sins we commit with our hands; the holes in his feet are beautiful because they bring us forgiveness for the times we’ve walked willingly into temptation and failed to avoid the near occasion of sin; and the hole in his heart is beautiful because through it we can be forgiven for the many times we’ve put other things before God—for the times, in other words, when we’ve allowed something else or someone else to occupy the first place in our heart.

It’s incredibly beautiful when people like you and me make tough, personal sacrifices for others; but it’s infinitely beautiful when an eternal God sacrifices himself for his imperfect and sinful creatures—as Jesus Christ did for us.- Fr. Ray Suriani

In the movie, Leslie who had come from an unbelieving family saw this beauty beyond both Jess and Maybelle who came from a believing family because she was able to see the story with an open heart and an open mind.

My prayer for the day is that may God help us to do the same and that we will dare to imagine for the greater miracles in our lives. To be able to see the beauty of the life rather then the mundanity of life. To see the beauty of God shining through our lives.

And to conclude: This show is highly recommended. Do place this show in your must-watch shows for the month along with the other blockbusters like Spiderman 3 (highly recommended as well), Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Shrek 3.


“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley

The Rich Man

10:17-27 Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” The man said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth.” As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But at this statement, the man looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God.”

How pertinent that my daily bread today was about the story of the rich man and it was just after the talks by Jackie Pullinger over the weekend.

Over the week, Victor asked me for money to help his mother pay her medical bills. I have been thinking about this for quite some time till this weekend when I heard the talk by Jackie Pullinger. She is a very down-to-earth lady who believes in giving generously to people in need even if she may not see the returns, although giving may not be monetary but it means sacrificing something in return such as time, sleep or effort.

During the 2nd lecture on Saturday when she asked if we Christians are just soul-hunters, a chord struck in my heart. I asked myself, am I just after the soul of Victor to bring him to the lord? Or am I truely a friend to him, willing to bless him even if I may not see the returns.

Immediately, I heard the Lord telling me to reply him about lending him the money for his mother's medical bills. I just decided to give even if it was going to inconvenient me and even if it means I'm going to have to save on my meals for the next few days.

But I decided to do it on two conditions:
1: That I was allowed to visit him and his mother and pray for them for healing.
2: That I was allowed to hand the money over to Victor's mother directly.

In the verses above, I felt that the lord really cares for the world.

Firstly, he loves the rich man who wholeheartedly followed the law both inwardly and outwardly as God can see the attitude of the person in following the law.

Secondly, he cares much for the poor. Although the man followed the laws wholeheartedly, he lacked the generousity and heart for the poor. He was unwilling to sell all he has and give to the poor.

When reading through the verses again, I come to think that sometimes as Christians, we talk about serving God, reading the bible and following the law. However, do we love the world?

Joh 3:16

For his is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

God loved the world so much that he gave his son to die for our sins. And Jesus died for the greatest sinners in the world regardless of whether they believed in him or not. It was all the same.

Remember the Balestier Rapist in the newspaper recently?

Yes, Jesus died for his salvation.

Remember Osama bin Laden who caused the 9-11 or even Hitler who started the Halocaust?

Yes, Jesus died for their salvation.

On the other extreme, he died for all the poor people in the world too, just like the homeless children in the papers in Iraq or the beggar on the road without a leg begging for food every morning at your MRT stations.

Yes, Jesus died for their salvation.

We, as Christians, are told to be imitators of Christ. We do not have to die for them as it was done when Jesus died on the cross. But do we have a heart for all these people? Do we turn away when we see someone coming up to you for donations?

But lord, we do not know if the money will go to the children or will it end up like another NKF.

But lord, someone else will help them.

But lord, I am not self-sufficent.

My prayer for today is that we will stop looking for excuses to turn away from the poor and needy but do our best to bless them either monetary or even by giving a simple prayer to the beggar that you see on the road. Lord, I pray that you would soften the hearts of our people so that we will always remember the poor and not be indifferent to them.

Lord, although Victor have not replied me regarding the message yet. I pray that he would understand that no matter what, I would try within my means to help him even if it means just praying for him. I pray for your grace over your people to always have a heart for the poor in the world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley