looking back

Three years ago

I took the road less travelled

Life was great

Through good and bad times

Through joy and sorrow

And now

After three years

I'm taking the same road again

To the road less travelled.

Looking back

I thank God

For His faithfulness

That had sustained me thus far.

And looking forward

I pray to God

For His future guidance and strength.

God of my Forever

God of my youth I remember
Your call on my life took me over
Your love has seen me through all my days
I stand here by Your grace
On this altar I’ve written my life
Tells of a story I have with You my Lord
I want the world to know

God of my forever and forever I’m with You
My life is saved with a price
Your sacrifice redeemed my soul
God of my forever and forever I will sing
My greatest honor will always be
To serve my Lord and King

God of my all I’ve surrendered
My heart finds its rest in Your word
Praises will not be enough to show
How my love for you has grown
Nothing matters when You’re here with me
In the end just to hear You say “well done”
Bowing before Your throne

Forever and ever
Jesus You alone in glory reign
Forever and ever
With You I walk this narrow way

-CHC-

take my hands

take My hand and walk where I lead

keep your eyes on me alone

don't you say why were the old days better

just because you're scared of the unknown

take My hand and walk where I lead

you will never be alone

faith is to be sure of what you hope for

and the evidence of things unseen

so take My hand and walk

just like a child

holding daddy's hand

don't let go of mine

you know you can't stand on your own

-KRY, Take My Hand-

Ipoh starwalk

For the first time in my life, I joined the Ipoh Starwalk two weeks back. Quite surprised at myself for being so excited about it. It has been quite a while since I had taken such a long walk. 7km? 10km? Wow... come to think of it now... How did I managed to finish the walk? Haha...

My goal was to finish the walk within the time limit and get a certificate. The determination was there... But as I walk.... half way through... my body starts to get tired.. with sore feet... Thoughts of I never reach there in time came and dampen my spirit. Felt like giving up at that time but I kept going hoping a miracle could happen? Hahaha.... And indeed, it was a miracle... i reached... i finish the race... and I got the certificate. Praise God for His strength.

It was indeed a good walk. It wasn't just a walk but rather a lesson for me as well. That walk reminds me of my life journey. Many of times in life, we tend to give up when things doesn't seem to go our way or things just didn't turned out the way we expect. And it is at this time we felt discouraged, not knowing what to do or where to go. But yet God is Almighty... He has a better plan for me... Without His strength, I wouldn't be able to finish that walk.... And it is the same with my life journey.

God, give me the strength to walk this journey with you.

That at the end of my life journey

I am able to say just as Paul did that

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Conversation

Got this from a friend of mine. Great article to share with all on an excellent conversation between 'God' and an unknown 'Me'. Worth reading. Credits to the unknown composer

God: Hello. Did you call me?

Me: Called you? No.. Who is this ?

God: This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.

God: What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don't know. But I can't find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.

God: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still can't figure out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

God: Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

God: Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

Me: Why are we then constantly unhappy?

God: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday.You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit.That's why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

God: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty. .

God: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always have to suffer?

God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life become better and not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

God: Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can't we be free from problems?

God: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading...

God: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?

God: Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing your road ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

God: Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?

God: When they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me". Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can't get the answer.

God: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be.Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not merely a process of discovery but a process of co-creation. You are my co-creator.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?

God: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

God: There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.

God: Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts and don't doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!

It's Christmas!

Christmas is a party. Specifically, it's a birthday party — for Jesus — and birthdays are meant to be celebrated. It's why we say "Merry Christmas!"

Ironically, at most Christmas parties the person whose birthday we're supposed to be celebrating is completely ignored. He's never even mentioned. Although Jesus is the reason for the season, he's often overlooked or merely mentioned along with Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, the Grinch, elves, and a long list of celebrated fictional characters.

Christmas is ultimately a celebration of God’s love for each of us. The best way we can celebrate Christmas is by giving gifts to Jesus—gifts of love and thankfulness. It is a time when we can stop and remember those who are often forgotten. We can reach out to help those in need.

God loves you!
God is with you!
God is for you!
Christmas is a time to celebrate that God loves you!

Something to ponder upon. Have we forgotten the real meaning of Christmas?

Every year at Christmas

All I can see

Are pictures of the things I want

Around the tree

But this year’s a little different

I’m not thinking of myself

So my prayer for this Christmas

Is for somebody else

(Chorus)

So I pray…

Joy To the World

Peace for every boy and girl

Hope when life is hard

Light when everything seems dark

God I know you’re listening

And you can hear

The need of every broken heart

And all their tears

I don’t have a lot to offer

Just this one simple prayer

That this Christmas everyone would know

Somebody cares…

(Chorus)

I pray that every hungry soul

Will be filled and will be warm

That not a single, solitary child

Would suffer harm

And Lord we find their ending

As we take another view

My hope is that this Christmas prayer

Would somehow come true

I pray…

Humanity would rise

And join with me

And together we’ll sing

Joy To the World (To all the world)

Peace (Peace) for every boy and girl (for every boy and girl)

(Talking bout hope) Hope when life is hard (when life is hard)

Light when everything seems dark

I pray that (I pray) every hungry soul

Will be filled and will be warm

(Not a single child) That not a single, solitary child

Would suffer harm

And Lord we find their ending

As we take another view

My hope is that this Christmas prayer

Would somehow come true…

Joy To the World

Peace for every boy and girl

God of this City

The Passion recently released the album, God of This City. The title was taken from a song, sung on the album by Chris Tomlin, but originally written and released by the Irish band, Blue Tree.

Back story of this song .. When asked about the song, Blue Tree lead vox Aaron Boyd recalls:

“There’s a couple from Carrickfergus, Ian and Leslie, and they moved out to Thailand to a place called Pattaya. We got asked to go and be part of an event called Pattaya Praise. Pattaya is a seaside town/resort place, and physically, it looks to be like the darkest place you’ll ever go to. And spiritually, it is THE darkest place we have ever been to. You just feel the evil. You just feel the enemy all over that place. It’s a very small place. . . But in that small area in Thailand, there are 30,000 prostitutes and that figure excludes kids and excludes anything that’s outside of the range of, say 18-30, and who are female. . .

Part of what we were asked to do was to go out and be part of an event which runs for four or five days. It had things like 24/7 worship and prayer and social action going on helping the people who clean the streets every morning. We played in a school and ministered in an orphanage and tried to get a heart for that city. As a band we were getting cold feet because we had four days in Bangkok to start, and in those four days it was great. We’d be quite hyperactive, and it was flat-out, four days; not an hour was lost to sleep in those four days. On the Sunday we managed to play in one church and it was brilliant, but we wanted more. And then when we got to Pattaya . . . we said, ‘If you can get us anywhere else to play, anywhere, we want to play. We just want to do what we do in the middle of somewhere and just go head-on into it.”

“There was a bar called The Climax Bar - on a street that’s about 10 metres wide, it’s a kilometre long and it’s filled with everything you can physically imagine. And I promise you, as a red-blooded male, to keep your head in the right place you’ve got to look down at the ground and walk down that street and pray because it is just so in your face. People hit you with menus about everything, flashing lights, just everything you can imagine goes on in that place. You see kids as young as eight, nine, 10, just selling themselves, you know?! You see 60-year-old guys walking down the street with two 13 or 14-year-old girls. Forget about the Christian thing, you just get raging! You properly get raging when you see that happening, you know?!”

. . . We got the chance to play in this bar, a two-hour worship set in this bar. I don’t think the people in the bar spoke a word of English but we basically got to go in. The deal was that we play and we bring a following of people with us; so we’re there, set up, really good gear! So we all set up and there was like 20 Christians all standing in front of us, and the deal was we play, they buy lots of drinks, alright? I don’t think the place has ever sold so much Coke in its whole life in one night!

And we got to play for two hours. And just the way the band set up, we like using loops, and at one point I just started singing out. I started singing “Greater Things”, something along those lines, almost prophesying over the city. And without going into the band dynamics, slowly this groove emerged from this thing. And long story short; we walked out of that Climax Bar with pretty much a nailed song, as strange as that sounds. Then we were on the way home.

We were all. . .it was that tumbleweed silence, you know? It was like, ‘What actually just happened in that time?!’ It was one of the most powerful worship experiences we’ve ever had. I actually remember looking out, and you’re looking down a wee alleyway, into the street, and it was just 50 or 60 probably British tourists and they’re just sitting there listening going, ‘What is this all about?’ Coming from The Climax Bar which is pretty much a strip club. Just, here we are singing about Jesus in the middle of this. . . It was one of the most random experiences but it was a God thing, God was there.”

Chris shares the story behind the song, "God of This City"

Indeed....

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Here, in Malaysia....

still

My colleague invited me to his church for an evening praise with the Korean missionary singers. Was contemplating whether to go as the others weren't able to make it. But at last, I went also. I'm glad I went cause it was an amazing night. We sang for hours.. And as we were singing the song "Still" by Hillsong, it reminds me of the video I saw the night before during a talk organized by Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). Err.. Not really a talk but rather a slide presentation on nesting and some exotic bird species.

The video was about a mother bird covering her young under her wings, shielding them from wind and rain. As I sing this song, I felt just like the little birds. So weak and frail. That I need to hide under the wings for protection.

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust

Thank You Lord that when I am weak, You covered me within Your mighty hand. Help me to be still in times like this.

promise

Last Sunday, pastor shared how he felt when he heard about the rise of petrol price on Wednesday. Many are unhappy with the sudden change of decision. Empty promises.. Though men may break their promises, but there is One Person who never breaks His promises. There is a faithful, promise-keeping God in heaven.

As he was sharing this, I was reminded of the wonderful promise on waiting.

Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

Indeed, waiting is the hardest thing to do. Hope and patience is what I need as I learn to wait. Though i may not be soaring right now, but Lord, help me to walk and not faint.

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me on this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel

the wait

Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for.
We wait in the darkness for a flame we cannot light,
We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write,
We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever.
Waiting is the hardest work of hope.

How long will the wait be? What does it take to wait well?

A Red Sea Place

Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,
Where in spite of all you can do,
There is no way out, there is no way back,
There is no other way but through?
Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene
Till the night of your fear is gone;
He will send the wind, He will heap the floods,
When He says to your soul "Go on."

And His hand will lead you through - clear through -
Ere the watery walls roll down,
No foe can reach you, no wave can touch,
No mightiest sea can drown;
The tossing billows may rear their crests,
Their foam at your feet may break,
But over their bed you shall walk dryshod
In the path that your Lord will make.

In the morning watch, ‘neath the lifted cloud,
You shall see but the Lord alone,
When He leads you on from the place of the sea,
To a land that you have not known;
And your fears shall pass as your foes have passed,
You shall no more be afraid;
You shall sing His praise in a better place,
A place that His hand has made.

-Annie Johnson Flint-

Always

You are good always
And in all ways
You are working all things
Together for our good
You are good always
In big and small ways
I know I can trust You
In everything You do

With the hard winds of life
Blowing out of control
It can feel like I'm all on my own
But You've given me Your word
And I know You'll never leave
And I've never faced a single storm alone

I can't say it's always
Been a smooth open road
Or turned out the way I'd prefer
But one thing I'm sure of
You've been faithful to me
And I live to give You all that You deserve

-by Steve Green-

Check out the video for this song here.

Psalms 139

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Better Than I

I thought I did what’s right

I thought I had the answers

I thought I chose the surest road

But that road brought me here

So I put up a fight

And told you how to help me

Now just when I have given up

The truth is coming clear

You know better than I

You know the way

I’ve let go the need to know why

For you know better than I

If this has been a test

I cannot see the reason

But maybe knowing I don’t know

Is part of getting through

I try to do what’s best

And faith has made it easy

To see the best thing I can do

Is put my trust in you

For You know better than I

You know the way

I’ve let go the need to know why

For you know better than I

I saw one cloud and thought it was a sky

I saw a bird and thought that I could follow

But it was you who taught that bird to fly

If I let you reach me will you teach me

For You know better than I

You know the way

I’ve let go the need to know why

I’ll take what answers you supply

You know better than I

My ways are not His ways, my thoughts are not His thoughts. Though we may not understand it right now, but You know better than we do.

L.I.F.E

Living on my own, thinking for myself

Castles in the sand, temporary wealth

Walls are falling down, storms are closing in

Tears have filled my eyes, here I am again

I was sure by now

God You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to you

And you raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

Is there hope for every man

A solid place where we can stand

In this dry and weary land

Is there hope for every man

Is there love that never dies

Is there peace in troubled times

Someone help me understand

Is there hope for every man

Seems there's just so many roads to travel, it's hard to tell where they will lead

My life is scarred and my dreams unraveled

Now I'm scared to take the leap

If I could find someone to follow who knows my pain and feels the weight

The uncertainty of my tomorrow, the guilt and pain of yesterday

Face Your Giants!

~ Fear disrupts faith and becomes the biggest obstacle
to trusting and obeying God ~

Llyod Ogilvie notes there are 366 "fear not" verses in the Bible - one for every day of the year, including one for leap year. Let not our fears be the reason for not stepping out of our comfort zone. May the song Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns be an encouragement to all. For full lyrics, click here.

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

When your giant tells you, "You'll never win".. Remember that the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!" No matter how tough the situation, never give up because anything is possible with God.

With you all things are possible.
Like an eagle,i can soar,
With you the giants fall.
They rise no more.
With you i overcome,
When fear and faith collide,
There's nothing i cant do.
Anything is possible with you.

With You lyrics

~ When you take on a challenge, it builds the core of who you are, even if you don't perform flawlessly ~

*All songs taken from the movie Facing Your Giants (nice movie)*

Valentine's Day

Secular songs of romantic expressions abound on this day. For the Christian, a hymn about love is also appropriate for Valentine’s Day, and no sweeter expression of one’s love for Christ can be found than these anonymous lines from an early American folk hymn.

For the early Christians, February 14 was a special day. Tradition tells us that a man by the name of Valentine was a Christian doctor who went about doing good deeds wherever he could, in imitation of his Master. Valentine became a good friend and helper to the Christians, who were being persecuted by the cruel powers of the Roman Empire. It is believed that the good doctor was eventually imprisoned because of his loyalty to his fellow “followers of the Way.” After he was beheaded on February 14, that day was observed each year in Valentine’s honor by the early Christians.

As time went on, however, Valentine and his deeds of kindness were forgotten. Because February was near the beginning of spring, with its feelings of romance, the day became a secular holiday celebrating romantic love. Tokens of love and affection were given to sweethearts and friends, starting the custom that we still practice today.

Dr. Valentine gave his life for his fellow Christians because of his deep love for Christ. We too can express our love for the Savior with these simply stated yet profound words … “but how much I love Thee my actions will show.”

I love Thee, my Savior, I love Thee, my Lord;
I love Thee, my Savior, I love Thee, my God:
I love Thee, I love Thee, and that Thou dost know;
but how much I love Thee my actions will show.

O Jesus my Savior, with Thee I am blest,
my life and salvation, my joy and my rest:
Thy name be my theme, and Thy love be my song;
Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue.

Oh who’s like my Savior? He’s heaven’s bright king;
He smiles and He loves me and helps me to sing:
I’ll praise Him, I’ll praise Him with notes loud and clear;
while rivers of pleasure my spirit shall cheer.

Rick Warren says...

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than l life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

A portion of what Rick Warren shared during his interview with Paul Bradshaw. Find it really interesting and just want to share it as well. It spoke to me and may it speaks to you too.

Stagnation

To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed,
Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed -
Until weeks become months
And months turn into years,
And one day you're looking back on a life of
Deep intimate gut-wrenchingly honest conversation you never had;
Great bold prayers you never prayed,
Exhilarating risks you never took,
Sacrificial gifts you never offered
Lives you never touched,
And you're sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul,
And forgotten dreams,
And you realize there was a world of desperate need,
And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself -
You see the person you could have become but did not;
You never followed your calling.
You never got out of the boat.

-An excerpt from "If you want to walk on water, you got to get out of the boat"-

.: There is no tragedy like the tragedy of the unopened gift :.

Captivate Us

Your face is beautiful
And Your eyes are like the stars
Your gentle hands have healing
There inside the scars
Your loving arms they draw me near
And Your smile it brings me peace
Draw me closer oh my Lord
Draw me closer Lord to Thee

(chorus)
Captivate us, Lord Jesus
Set our eyes on You
Devastate us with Your presence
Falling down
And rushing river, draw us nearer
Holy fountain consume us with You
Captivate us Lord Jesus, with You

Your voice is powerful
And Your words are radiant bright
In Your breath and shadow
I will come close and abide
You whisper love and life divine
And Your fellowship is free
Draw me closer O my Lord
Draw me closer Lord to Thee

(chorus)

Let everything be lost in the shadows
Of the light of Your face
Let every chain be broken from me
As I’m bound in Your grace
For Your yoke is easy, Your burden is light
You’re full of wisdom, power and might
And every eye will see You

(chorus)

-Watermark-