Are you giving to the poor?

This serves as a reminder for us, followers of Jesus Christ.

Excerpt from the book, "Anthropological Insights for Missionaries", in Chapter 11 - The Unfinished Task.

"David Barrett points out that 780 million people today live in absolute poverty, a condition of life defined by the World Bank as a condition "so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy and disease as to be beneath any reasonable definition of human decency". Roughly 500 million of these needy are on the edge of starvation, and another 1.5 billion are malnourished.

Of the 125 million babes born in 1981, 12 million died before their first birthday, and another 5 million will not see their fifth birthday. One child in four suffers from malnutrition; four of every five children lack adequate health care. The poorest children are often parents themselves: 40 percent of the first births in the Two-Thirds World are to girls fifteen years old or younger.

In contrast to this, the 1.5 billion followers of Christ own two-thirds of the world's resources and have an average yearly income more than three times that of non-Christians. Not all Christians, however, are materially wealthy. Almost 200 million live in absolute poverty, while 750 million of their fellow Christians live in affluence. Although most well-off Christians support relief, on an average they give less than 3 percent of their income to Christian ministries. If they were to give even a tithe, Barrett concludes that "to a large extent, the global sharingby Christians of money, wealth, property, and goods could solve most of the problems of famine, poverty, disease, unemployment, dangerous water supply and so on"

Are you heading towards the right direction? Or are there holes in your pocket? Start giving.

"For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'" - Deut 15:11(ESV)

Don't we dare forget that.

Can I receive love but not follow?

Lord - Our King. One whom we worship. One whom we subject ourselves to. One whom we bow down and worship.

Saviour - Our Redeemer. One who saves. One who purchased us by His blood. One who rescues us from our sins and condemnation.

Master - Our Great Teacher. One who teach with His total being. One whose ways are perfect. One whose ways we seek to follow.

Friend - Our Closest Companion. One who walks with us through all ups and downs. One who make known His inmost thoughts to us. One who never leaves us even when we had left.

Who is Jesus to you? Is He only saviour to you? Is He only a friend to you? Or is He your Lord and Master as well? Let us not forget that Christ is all and He want us to know Him in all His fullness and greatness. This is but a mere description of Him in what human words can describe.

Let us not be ignorant. We must follow Him and become more like Him each day. And let us not kid ourselves on a job well-done when someone makes a 'decision' for Jesus only to say 'I cannot commit(in following His ways).' Has the person really believe and turn from his sins? Maybe yes, maybe no. But Jesus must be Lord and Master as well.

"Oh how far we have fallen! Oh how little we have to draw from! Stories from the past have served to remind us again and again of our lack and want of prayers and love. I have fallen short too. Way too short. May the Lord open our eyes to our deficiencies. May He moved His people to become more like Him. To be really more like Him. Amen"

"I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." - 1 Cor 2:3-5.

Dear brothers and sisters, are we missing something in our sharing of the gospel? And receive a 'result' that is equally deficient too? May His mighty wind blow again.

I Beat My Body

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" ~ 1 cor 9:25-27

Yes Lord. This is not an easy time. It is a time of further moulding and grinding and it is indeed tough. But Lord, you are my strength and my shield. You will lift up my gloom and my countenance shall shine again. I will run with perseverance the race marked out for me. I will fix my eyes on you and will not grow weary and lose heart. I have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood, have I? Grant me strength that I may endure hardship as discipline, that the pain may produce a harvest of righteousness and peace when I have been trained by it. Let me not shirk any responsibilities or complain about my tasks. But let me do all things with all joy with a sincere heart. I will give thanks to you Lord for you are good. Your love endures forever. Amen.

Wonderful Friends, Wonderful Saviour

Today we met at Manna, a Korean restuarant near Raffles Place and we had a sumptuous meal. The price is a bit hefty for me but worth every penny of my time with such friends. Ex-colleagues that stay in touch and get together every now and then don't come along easily. Especially not when most of us had left the company about 5-6 years ago. Friends are a blessing.

We talked about everything and anything to do with our lives and interests. We talked about health issues, about investment and money, about other friends who were not able to join us, about travelling and holidays, and about good ol' memories.

It seemed so natural as if we were still in the same company. As if we haven't grown older. As if we haven't part company and went on our way to other countries and companies. It was a delight to meet, eat and talk the night away. Such a blessing and such wonderful people.

I wish these wonderful people will know Christ someday. I wish they will have an even more abundant life than what they are having now. I wish they will find the best gift and joy they can find in Jesus. I wish, I wish. I must start praying.

Humility and the Restful Heart

Excerpt from the book, Companion to the Poor, in italics
In Andrew Murray's definition of humility, it is a perfect quietness of the heart; it is never sore or irritated or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed and despised.

Such a high order yet Christ show us it is attainable by His example. And a great many saints displayed this too, except that none was perfect except for Christ. What struck me most is - "to be at rest when I am blamed and despised".

The human nature is such that we instinctively defend ourselves or get worked up when we are blamed and despised. Our ego cries out for "fairness" and seek to defend its right to look good. It cannot withstand false accusations, wrongful blame and hard sayings.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying we should not explain ourselves in sticky situations but in a lot of matters, there is actually no need to defend ourselves. If you think hard enough about the battles you have fought before, you realised that you could actually brush most of them aside for the sake of peace.

But sometimes, it is really so hard to bite the bullet isn't it? But thanks be to God for His perfect example. I will seek to follow Christ in all His ways and imitate His way of life through the help of the Holy Spirit. I will bow down and submit to you Lord, and my heart shall be at rest.

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." - Romans 12:18

Tension

I am no expert in the subject of humility. I know the pride in my life and how I flash it in times of weaknesses. Pride is such a dangerous weapon that our deceitful heart often do not recognise Pride when it is being manifested in our actions and speech. Jesus is the perfect example of a person who had defeated pride. Phil 2:5-11 paints such a beautiful picture of Christ's humility and the life He lived. It is indeed something to be grasped, and something to emulate in our lives.

I am still very much a timid but brash child of God sometimes. I know the rebel in me, and the hot, zealous blood flowing through my veins. Having the winning mentality is detrimental sometimes, and I must admit that it can have a devastating effect in my soul. But the Kingdom of God is not about winning or losing - it is about running and finishing the race; and it is about helping someone to join in the race and guide him along. Oh, how hard it is to submit sometimes! How hard it is to admit defeat! But Christ did all that. His submission and defeat was necessary for the salvation of mankind and victory. The end is so much sweeter than the immediate results but the process so agonising.

But as of now, I am consumed by my zealousness. My eyes are blocked by my passion and my ears began to shut down. I imagine the worst and I geared myself up for war. I am ready to die for such a cause! but a timely advice cool my blood. I put down my sword and armour for a moment and recollect my thoughts. What has He said? What is He saying? Let there be confirmation. That I might not rouse a war without sound counsel from 2 or 3. May God be my judge! and Counsellor.

"Help me to submit to you O Lord. Search my heart and cleanse my thoughts. Let me do everything without complaining and arguing. Let those who wants to win, win. But as for me, let me run the race with love. The love that always forgive, always bear, always peaceful, always smile and always care. Amen"