threescore and ten

You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. 

Potentially misleading, but it helped me see stewardship in a whole different light. 

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It’s almost disconcerting that the second-half of my third decade is upon me. The term ‘late twenties’ has always been reserved for others, and never for myself. Alas, the once distant future is now fast approaching and there’s no escaping the label for the next few years. But never mind the labels, it matters very little what people call me. 

More importantly, the next few years will perhaps be the most strategic of the (hopefully) many years to come- not having all the restrictions of youth and neither the restrictions of old age. I’d be a fool not to recognize how precious these years are. There’s so much potential for fruitfulness and productivity which has to be harnessed for the right purposes. 

Time to give up the good for the better. May my best years be His.

Oh Lord, don’t let the days pass me by when greater things are to be done in this city!

Empty- that's what KL is at the moment. I'd imagine that homes would be the inverse- family gatherings, reunion dinners, etc. And even if it isn't,

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. -Proverbs 15:17

You know it's true. =)

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! 

I've been re-visiting some of the Christian titles that have been pivotal in my development of faith; mainly because the past year has been a year of great change and I feel a need to regain lost ground (though  there are loads in the bookshed that remain untouched). Still, its interesting to discover fresh insights to passages that I've read  before. Here's something that caught my attention.

Been reading Lewis and his extremely grounded, rational and structured approach toward Christianity. It's almost funny that he spent most of his teenage years as a convinced atheist (ironically, his rationality being one of the factors preventing himself from embracing Christianity) before he made a logical decision that Christ must be the way, truth and life. He then went on to coin his famous adage: "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God."

On the surface, we all see rationality as his Salvation. Of course, we don't actually say it, but that's what we think. We think that if all the evidence for and against Christ was laid before us, we'd be overwhelmed and have no choice but to accept the facts the same way Lewis did. It might very well be the case, but that would sadly be missing the main ingredient. We forget that Salvation isn't a decision- it is a gift from God and found in Christ, by the Spirit. 

People come to Christ through different vehicles, but its the same God that initiates and saves.

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In pursuing others for Christ by whatever means- serious in-depth debates, lifestyle evangelism, preaching, special events or outreach- it'd  be wise to remember who the author of Salvation is. And from there, build our ministry upon this foundation. 

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."

New year!

And how has the first week of the year been different from that of the previous year(s)? =)

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Firecrackers, watchnight services, reminiscing the passing year and making resolutions- all of them, new year's pleasantries. But truth be told, if life has been terrible in the past weeks, don't expect it be any different this year.

That being said, the first week is/might be a fair projection of how well the resolutions of the new year will be kept and (to some extent) an indication of the amount of thought and effort put into the new year's resolutions. If you're failing miserably, not to worry, there's always Chinese New Year to start afresh =).

Oh, don't let me burst your bubble! =D It's good to have a new year and it's especially good to make resolutions. But lets all make wise and responsible resolutions, yes?

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. -Matthew 5:33-37 


Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. -Galatians 6:7-10 


The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” -Luke 12: 16-21 


Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -Psalms 90:10,12 

God help us all.

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Here's some music to get your new year started. =)