Gospel

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once wrote:

"If I had never been a sinner, I never could call Jesus Saviour."

This is indeed the Gospel, the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ...
That He came not for the just, but for the sinful.

This is Good News to people who are drawn to Christ but think themselves too sinful to ever be forgiven.

This is Good News to Christians who are plagued by guilt and shame for falling into sin over and over again despite their best efforts.

This is the Good News that we are to preach to the ends of the earth, which we often forget, deeming some people to be too difficult to love.

Lord, thank You for Your Gospel.
I am amazed at how thorough is Your salvation, that when in my ignorance I rejected You and lived as though I don't know You, still You have first loved me and chose to die for me.
Now my life is Yours. Though I may falter and lose hope, let me be an instrument of the Gospel.

I'm not ashamed of the Gospel, Lord.
With Your power & Your love, You saved my soul.
Now I'm alive in You! I live in the Risen Son!
-- from the song "I'm Not Ashamed" by Hillsong

Fighting Dreamer

Monkey D. Luffy.

The man who would become the Pirate King.

Star of the manga & anime series One Piece, Luffy and his crew sails the legendary ocean Grand Line to find the ultimate treasure and to become the strongest pirate in the world, the Pirate King.


Though many pirates generally love to cause chaos by plundering and looting, the author Eiichiro Oda brings up the point that a pirate is essentially just an outcast of society, misunderstood people who don't conform to the majority, seeking a life of fulfilment & adventure, chasing after a dream.

As Christians, don't we feel like outcasts sometimes?

We are in this world but we are not of this world. We seek to not live according to the ways of the world, and that often puts us at odds with the majority, e.g. Most of the young people in the world think that pre-marital sex is perfectly fine as long as both parties consent and "love" each other. What does our faith say about pre-marital sex?

Once some people find out that we are Christians, they view us through their own lens of what Christianity is about... And they question us, make fun of our beliefs, challenge our faith or keep their distance from us.
Yup, a regular day in the life of a pirate =)


Then there's also the element of treasure...

Pirates spend their lives hunting for and storing up treasure. But treasure is not always defined as gold or diamonds.
Luffy's treasure is a strawhat he keeps with him at all times, entrusted by a pirate he greatly admires and seeks to surpass, and the embodiment of his dream to become the Pirate King. For that dream is Luffy's real treasure, his reason to keep on going no matter how tough the obstacles and how deadly the opponents he had to face.

Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Therefore, store up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in to steal."
So what is your treasure? Is it passing things like wealth, fame, beauty or career? Or is it seeking to bring pleasure to the heart of God?

When we were born, God put in each of us a vision... A purpose He wants to fulfill in our lives.
That becomes a dream so huge, we think we are crazy for even daring to think of it. That is the God-given dream, a vision that shall come to pass as long as we put our trust in the Lord and keep on working towards it no matter what obstacles stand in our way.

What is the dream that God has put in your heart?


Another theme in One Piece is the idea that your friends are your treasure.
Luffy's crew each sail with him to pursue their own dreams, and their personalities are so extreme that they bicker and clash a lot, but when trouble comes knocking they risk life and limb for each other. They stand by each other no matter how impossible the odds may seem.





Same goes for our Christian community. The Lord wants us to love Him by loving each other.
Sure we may offend each other from time to time, sometimes not by intention but simply because we are created differently. Do we stand by each other when the going gets tough?
Ha ha.. Yup, we are the crew of Captain Jesus... and we raise His Name high as our bannner!


Luffy is a fighting dreamer... He's so convicted of his purpose that he fights to see it become reality.


I wanna be a fighting dreamer too, believing that I will see my God-given dream come to pass.

But I do not want to become any kind of King.

I have a King, and He is the King of Kings!


"In the presence of a thousand kings, You are my one desire..."

-- from the song "Be Glorified" by Chris Tomlin

Lady Rain

"Lady Rain... I hear you at my window..."


As I was blogging this, that old song by Indecent Obsession came to my mind.

Kinda love that old tune... Some of you reading this might not even have heard of that song before eh? Ha ha... I must be getting older.


I was woken up at 5 am by the pitter patter of rain on my window.

"Praise the Lord", I thought. He made it rain now instead of later so we can carry on with our plan to go to Sentosa.


8.30 am


My alarm rang and I opened my eyes... and I can still hear the rain drops on my window.

Messages start to come in from the rest of the gang...

So how?

Raining lei...

Plan B?

Shall we wait?


I dwelled on that thought for a moment... Shucks, we cannot go Sentosa. There goes our plan.

So I lingered on it a moment longer... But then I decided to praise the Lord anyway.

It's a nice beautiful weather.

And my friends sounded determined to still meet each other... Ha ha... Yeah, it's the company that matters more than anything.


Our day out turned into a chill out session at a sister's place.

But no matter, my heart is still filled with joy. And I just know God is showering His love upon all of us at this moment.



It's going to be a beautiful, rainy day.

Twenty-three.

My favourite number.

23.

The day of my birth.

XXIII.

One of the most beautiful Psalms ever written.

10 + 10 + 3

His Airness.. the great Jordan.

Dua puluh tiga.

My age when Jesus came to my rescue... and my life was never the same again.

As this little fact of life hit me yesterday, I realise what a sweet thing my Heavenly Father has done for me.

I ever wondered, why didn't God bring me to the Youth in the Spirit Seminar when I was younger? That way I would come to know Him earlier and would have more years to serve Him in ministry...

I've come to realise many reasons for that since then, and I praise God for His wonderful works.

But this has to be the cutest reason of them all...

He called me to Him at age 23, my favourite number... So now that number will be a special number for Him and me... the age when the wayward son returned.

"I once was lost, but now am found..."

"Was blind, but now I see."

God's Greatest Plan

"God's greatest plan for His Son... Was to die on the Cross."

Thanks to brother Daniel for sharing that very sobering sentence.

Sometimes in my zeal, it is so easy to think that I would give my life to serve God and do great things for Him.

It may sound very noble but often the "I" stands out more than it should.

Sometimes when people tell me that they see me doing awesome works for God's Kingdom, it is easy to envision grand things... a stage, a big crowd... though these may indeed be what is to come, but is it really how the Lord defines "awesome works"?

After all, the grand plan of the salvation of humanity was accomplished in the most inhuman way possible... the King of Majesty unjustly accused, scourged, paraded as a criminal and His naked body finally nailed to the Cross for all the world to see.

Yup... that's God's greatest plan for Jesus Christ... the redemption of the whole world.

Lord, help me to not look to the future til I forget the present reality... For here I am, a servant who thinks more highly of himself than he probably should. For now I am, a "leader" who really needs You to tell him how to proceed and where to go.

Father, thank You for teaching me everyday... that when I think I am wise, I may be a fool. That when I think I am right, I may be wrong. That when I think I am justified, I may be judging.

Spirit, thank You for Your gentleness & Your patience... Help me to surrender my will to You more and more. Amen.

God's Rhinos

Some of you who have seen the links in my blog might have wondered

"Huh, what are these Rhinos for God?"

Well, they are...

Rhino no.1 - Mervin Prakash

Rhino no.5 - Clement Chua

Rhino no.7 - Daniel Sim

Rhino no.69 - Wilfred Chua

A band of brothers from Zion's Joy, a youth ministry based in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

I got to know Daniel when Zion's Joy (affectionately called ZJ, according to them) attended their first SACCRE Youth meeting at the beginning of the year. I was immediately drawn by his openness in sharing, passion for God and clear enthusiasm to be part of the Youth Wing of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Singapore.

I went to help for one of the days when ZJ organised a Youth Empowered in the Spirit! Camp (or YES! Camp.. man, they are good with these catchy names huh?) and got to know the other Rhinos.

Since then, through our fellowship in outings and SACCRE events, I've come to admire & respect these fine young men, with their fiery passion for God & the building of His Kingdom.

Before I met them, I used to wonder if I'm crazy for charging everywhere to serve in various camps, churches & ministries in many different ways... I just cannot stop going for my God, so captivated am I by the Glory that is Yahweh & the Awesomeness that is Jesus, His Son.

Guess what, not only have my four brothers been at it longer than I have, they have even come up with a term for what they do.. being Rhinos for God.

But being Rhinos isn't all about charging blindly... They have come to learn that even Rhinos need some downtime, to graze in the pasture that the Lord leads them too... (think Psalm 23)

Right, guys? =)

Why God's Rhinos, you might ask? Not something more majestic like Eagles, or more magnificent like Lions? Well, I'll let the originators tell the story themselves... Go dig up the archives in their blog through the link on the left side of your screen.

If you're reading this, guys, thanks for your friendship, honest sharing, encouragements & affirmations... It's been a joy to serve with you, and I feel confident we can accomplish great things for our God, charging alongside each other... =)

Something I found on the net, to remind you guys that no matter how garang a Rhino can be... In God's loving eyes, You're still His bundles of joy.... ;)

"Aww... So cuuuttteee!" -- God

P.S. Mario Chua, if you're reading this too... You may not call yourself a Rhino, but you're no less mighty a servant in God's Kingdom! Cheers to you too, bro!

It Is Okay...

Lord, I can't do this alone!

He says, "That's right, now you're getting there. Not by strength, not by might, but by MY Spirit."

Lord, I don't have all the answers!

He says, "Well, you don't need to. That's why you have these people around you, right? Let me speak through them too."

I felt the Lord calling me to sit nearer to Him, so I approached the Blessed Sacrament.
Oh the joy to sit at the feet of my Master!
Jesus whispered, "As you come before me, you have been washed clean... Your garments now white as snow."

Thanks, Gav, Jane, Becky & Pris...
For reminding me that I'm not alone in this...
Thank you for your love for our Cell, thank you for your affirmation...

Thanks, Gav, for reaffirming me that I should be myself... It is okay.

For the Lord says, "Come as you are..."