Faith, Hope and Love

As I marveled at the wonder of God's creation during the recent ODAC expedition to Gunung Tapis and Rainbow Waterfall, I am reminded of the hope we have in Christ. "And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind..."(Genesis 9:12-15) We were all made to have a special relationship with God and the rainbow is a sign to us about God's grace and mercy to mankind. No matter how bad the situation may seem, there is always hope if we put our faith in Him.

My dogs - En En & Bernie CNY 2006. Click on their photo album on the sidebar to view more photos.

Sometimes, when we are recovering from something in life that has afflicted us, we wonder why the recovery process is so slow and painful. We wonder why God wouldn't work faster and bring about the change quicker. Deuteronomy 7: 17-24 is an encouragement from the word of God that He is always there, and a call to have the faith that the Lord knows what is best for us and that He will make us complete in His image in due course. You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?" 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will dri...

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the thorns. And he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died. So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose.The God-like qualities planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential. Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is the characteristic of love, to look at a...

My dog Bernie. A photo album has been started for him and you can view it from the links at the sidebar.

Endless inventions, endless experiments, Brings knowledge of motion but not of stillness... Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? (T.S. Eliot) "I thought of a rather cruel trick I once played on a wasp. He was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed oesophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him. It is the same with modern man. The thing that has been cut away is his soul." (George Orwell)

No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (1 Cor 13:3, The Message) Because God is love, the most important lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving that we are most like him, so love is the foundation of every command he has given us. Love is expressed in the form of relationships. Often we act as if relationships are something to be squeezed into our schedule. We talk about finding time for our family or making time for people in our lives. That gives the impression that relationships are just part of our live along with many other tasks. But God says relationships are what life is all about. All the ten commandments are about relationships – with God and with people! So why do we allow our relationships to get the short end of the stick? When our schedules become overloaded, we start skimming relationally, cutting back on giving the time, energy, and attention that loving relationships require. What’...

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

The most interesting thing happened to me today. I had my first encounter with a catfish and it was quite a nasty experience. The sting was certainly an unforgettable experience. So my wife and I researched to find out more about it and we stumbled upon a very informative website with details of various wilderness emergencies and first aid treatment. The URL is found under my links for Recreation.

Lord, grant me the right attitude towards my examination, that even when I study, I want to glorify Your name. Give me the strength that I may press on, perseverance that I may endure, good health that I may study effectively. Help me to be single-minded when I study, remove all other thoughts, distractions and anxieties. Give me the power to concentrate, the ability to understand and to remember. Show me the way to study intelligently, to know what is important and what is not. Provide me Lord with quality time in my studies, remove all tensions and fears within me. Fill me with Thy confidence, teach me to draw strength from You each day. Let me learn to trust You in such times. In the examination hall, be with me Lord. Grant me the clarity and sharpness of thought. Let me not get distracted by things around me. Give me concentration and calmness Lord. Help me to gather my thoughts of what I’ve learnt. Grant me the discipline to space out time equally on a...

Life in fast-paced Singapore is no bed of roses. We have often heard the exhortation that we have no choice but to move this way in order to remain ahead of competition and ensure our survival. Thus, many of us are caught up in a rat-race, spending disproportionate amounts of our time working or studying. But are we getting anywhere? Are we just like a hamster running on its exercise wheel, expending all our energies but getting no where? I believe that in order to avoid ending up in the confines of a "cage", we have to take time off to reflect. An army colonel once commented to me, "There is a difference between having 5 years of experience and having 1 year of experience repeated 5 times." I guess that difference lies in pausing occasionally to reflect on my actions and to review my goals in life. There is more to life than just work or studies. Perhaps all these are best summed up by this poem by an unknown author: Take time to think; it is the source of pow...

I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task; "Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered, "You didn't ask." I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on gray and bleak; I wondered why God didn't show me. He said, "But you didn't seek." I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock." I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day; I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray. Author Unknown "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Phil 4:6) For Jesus promised, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock an...

Verse 1 In your despair and deepest sorrow When you are standing in the midst of pain's sharp arrows You carry on to face tomorrow's failing light It is love that will see you through the night When there is doubt and fierce uncertainty And there is darkness all around you can't see where to go You struggle on and find there is no end in sight It is faith that will see you through the night Chorus He knows your pain, He'll never let you go He gently holds your precious soul He lifts you high and in His love you'll stand Because you're holding the Father's Hand Verse 2 You cry to God when you are overwhelmed He'll lead you to a rock that's higher than where you'll ever be You battle on to face the journey's darkest fight It is love that will see you through the night When troubles come and courage fades away When you are sinking in the midst of life's stormy seas You triumph on and find within a hope so...

A man who was going on a journey called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talen...

In the beginning, when God made man, He said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." And God made woman to be man's companion. Though this event is often thought to refer to marriage, I believe it applies to friendship as well. No man is an island. From creation, God knew our need for companionship. In the case of Adam, God gave him Eve. For those of us who are not married, God has given us friends! Imagine how boring life would be if none of us has any friends! King Solomon talks about the advantages of companionship in Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 I observed yet another example of meaninglessness in our world. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, "Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?" It is all so meaningless and depressing. Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one...

Some of us lament that we do not know when God is speaking to us. Others complain that God seems so far away from us. Actually, our relationship with God is somewhat like our relationship with our human friends. It takes some effort on our part to maintain it. For friends we keep in touch with regularly, we recognise their voice instantly when they call. We know their likes and dislikes and there is always a sense of closeness when we are around them. For friends we only talk to once in a while, we may not always recognise their voice, nor are we likely to understand them very well. The same rule applies for our relationship with God. Of course, for our human friends, we do not treat all of them the same. For various reasons, some get more of our time while others get less. Our best friends generally get more of our time. The question one then asks is – how about God? If we consider Jesus as our best friend, then we should be spending more time with Him than with anyone else. But ...

AFRAID "The LORD is my light and my salvation-so why should I be afraid? The LORD protects me from danger- so why should I tremble?" ~Psalm 27:1 "I am holding you by your right hand-I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, `Do not be afraid. I am here to help you.'" ~Isaiah 41:13 "Say to those who are afraid, "Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you." ~Isaiah 35:4 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. ~1 John 4:18 BROKEN-HEARTED "He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds." ~Psalm 147:3 "Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning." ~Psalm 30:5 BURDENED "Now I will relieve your shoulder of its burden; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud.. ~Psalm 81:6-7 "Give your burdens to the LORD, and h...

When we look at our lives, we sometimes feel that we seem to be doing nothing important. Does it matter if I turn up at school/work today? Will anyone even notice? Compared to all the student leaders/key appointment holders, I'm just a nobody. Can I make a difference at all in this world? Well, I believe we can if we have the right attitude. The bible records the lives of many "nobodies" who later became important people. Esther, an orphan and a war fugitive, became the queen of a foreign king and was instrumental in preventing the complete annihilation of her own people. Joseph, sold by his brothers to be a slave, set up by his master and thrown into jail, later became the prime minister of Egypt and carried out the very first food rationing exercise in recorded history that helped to preserve thousands of lives in 7 years of drought and bad harvest. David, the youngest son of a shepherd, an occupation despised by his people, became one of the greatest king in the his...