What am I? Am I a Catholic, a Baptist, Pentecostal, Wesleyan, a Jehovah’s Witness, Uniting, am I a Muslim or an Anglican, perhaps a Seventh Day Adventist? I get asked this question a lot and to which I answer, “None of them, put me anywhere and I’ll be fine.” I think what I wanted to say was, “I don’t think I really belong to any particular group. I was a Catholic at one time then moved on to Pentecostal while attending Baptist then went back to Catholic for a period after which I became a member of the worship group at a Wesleyan, made good friends with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and worked under a Uniting group. I lived in a Muslim country for two seasons, married an Anglican and felt at home with the Seventh Day Adventists”.
Some may find me a well seasoned nomad from a lifetime of ‘church hopping’ (as Pentecostals call it). I’ve been there before, done that before, and heard that all before. Some people may find my way of thinking too radical, blasphemous and almost verging into heresy. They are cautious in taking me because I’m not one to easily conform. I don’t fear commitment, I just don’t want to be fenced and boxed in. I savour both order and my God given free-will.
My father was a convert and eventually became a pastor. He also claims he’s an evangelist. At one time I said I’m going to be an evangelist out of longing for my father’s approval then changed my mind at an early age not to marry a pastor because pastors were usually penniless and some I have witnessed lived in hypocrisy. Still seeking some form of approval from my father at a later age, I followed him from one church to the next. The approval I finally got was the permission to detach myself from my father’s footsteps and something had made it clear what being one with my husband meant.
I also came to know King David’s psalm (Psalm 92:13) about those who are planted in the house of the Lord flourishes. It still boggles me though what the house of the Lord is. Surely it’s not referring to any particular buildings made by human hands, for who could ever contain the greatness of God when the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot even contain Him! Perhaps God had understood my finite mind and so made it possible for me to grasp this concept and simplified what the house of the Lord is - it is the personhood of Christ. For in JC lives the fullness of the Diety, the Godhead (Colossians 1:15; 2:9-10).
Where is JC? He is where the hurting people are, where many are afraid to go, where poverty is, where prisoners are. He is with the vulnerable, the lost, the rejects of society, the hopeless, the fatherless, the widows, the orphans and the outcast (March 2010, http://jcluvmd.blogspot.com/). It is for this very people why Christ came to earth, and there are still many of them out there.
Someone said "go to that church over there or this church over here and you will find God", but I encountered the reality of Christ from a non-religious book, felt closer to God most when I’m alone surrounded by nature (some Aboriginal people calls it Daddirri (Jan 2011, http://jcluvmd.blogspot.com/). I experience His presence most when I’m writing or when I’m working, aware of His presence inside and outside, when I’m with or without my family. He manifests Himself in numerous ways that are most familiar to me.
So what is church? Church is not so much about the venue but the people itself. It is when we come together with a purpose much like what occurs before Christmas season – a time when as disciples of Christ we visit a total stranger bringing gifts to the forgotten children of the prisoners. It is the planning, the talking, the brainstorming, the sharing and the working together towards that purpose. It’s that fellowship with each person participating, doing their bit to make that purpose come to life. You need to want to be there, to contribute something of yourself be it time, money, talent, skill, passion, insight, or experience. That is church. It’s not to earn brownie points from God or appease His favour for there is nothing more anyone can do to make God love us more because He already does (Romans 8:38-39) and He did it by sacrificing someone that is worth more to Him than to us.
Church is connecting with people struggling through life, hanging on to the hope of Christ’s promises, savouring and remembering His mercies and grace as each one talks about God’s goodness. Church is a group of people who will cry, laugh, pray, and rejoice with you.
Church is but a part of my soul growth and complements what God teaches me every day at home, at work, and at play; during seasons of good and trying times. He uses every means to capture my attention and most of my learning takes place outside the four walls of a church. What would have become of me if I was solely dependent on a once a week church service for nurturing my spirit???
For anyone who is willing to seek with their heart and soul (Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29) the uncontainable God (2 Chronicles 2:6), He can be found in all things (Colossians 1:15-17) for He fills all creation (Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 139:7-10).
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Our god-ness
I found myself mulling over a conversation I had with a colleague….something about us being ancient beings and within our DNA the unescapable desire to duplicate ourselves.
Take having children for instance. Reasons vary from skewed to absurd. Some have children to obtain money, to have someone pay their debt, to assemble a sports team, for the survival of their own species or propagation of a family name, to have someone look after them when they get old, to meet social expectation or else, accidental.
Someone at sometime had said that we were created to worship God. Worship was defined as ‘to come forward and kiss’ implying the intimate nature of the relationship God intends with His creation. The longing to be loved by a being that bears His resemblance must have driven the Great Creator. It is the same inherent drive within us to seek our likeness in someone else. Isn’t that why we tend to gravitate towards the person who reflects a part of us and we lose interest in someone when we no longer have anything in common? We search for that which would bring us a sense of completeness. And how grand it is when you found someone that complement yourself and have the ability to capture both yourself and the other person into one! It brings that much more security when you can love yourself three times.
I think that the Almighty have taken a great risk creating us… for when He created humanity and breathed into us His Spirit, He was essentially creating a part of Himself - a being with a free will. Didn’t He say we are gods and are children of the Most High (Psalm 82:6)? And so it is pointless to blame Adam and Eve for the sin of humanity. Had Adam and Eve not eaten from the forbidden tree, where else and when else could we have exercised this god-ability called ‘free will’ when there could be no such thing as choosing good from good? But God, despite knowing that the disobedience of two creatures will require Him to sacrifice His own Son, persisted in the creation of humanity. And since God is said to be the source of all that is love and good (Mark 10:18), perhaps He only saw the good that which was in Adam and Eve. Some love and goodness that drove God to even subject Him that had come directly from His bosom to death just to bring the whole world back to where God is able to see His ultimate purpose fulfilled! Such love and goodness that it compels the Creator to turn the heart of His creations from stones into flesh to bring us back into fellowship with Him (Ezekiel 36: 26-27)!
Isn’t it that we take the same risks when we have children? You hope for the good from your kids knowing well the tendency that your children may one day turn their backs on you? So why still have kids knowing the costs? Perhaps because nothing surpasses the elation of hearing your children tell you how much they love you. Isn’t it grand to have someone love you by their own free will without the need to beg? Free-will, both a curse and a blessing, had made it possible for us to experience anger and forgiveness, sadness and joy, hate and love, to give and receive, to be human. We need someone to love and be loved in return – attaining the perfect love, overcoming that fear and sadness of rejection.
I could sense the Creator’s heart towards us as I sense mine towards my two children – a mother’s heart to see them safe, happy, successful, healthy, reaching their potential, achieving their goals, experience and enjoy all that life is, the emotions, the trials and the hardships, make mistakes and learn from it because this is how they get to know themselves, discover things, plan things and be able to make sound decisions in life, live in an adventurous way not just survive. This must be how God wants to see us if He has His choice over our lives. If only we choose to line our will with His......
“Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…So God created man in His own image...male and female He created them. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostril the breath of life…” Genesis 1: 26, 27; 2:7 (NKJV)
Take having children for instance. Reasons vary from skewed to absurd. Some have children to obtain money, to have someone pay their debt, to assemble a sports team, for the survival of their own species or propagation of a family name, to have someone look after them when they get old, to meet social expectation or else, accidental.
Someone at sometime had said that we were created to worship God. Worship was defined as ‘to come forward and kiss’ implying the intimate nature of the relationship God intends with His creation. The longing to be loved by a being that bears His resemblance must have driven the Great Creator. It is the same inherent drive within us to seek our likeness in someone else. Isn’t that why we tend to gravitate towards the person who reflects a part of us and we lose interest in someone when we no longer have anything in common? We search for that which would bring us a sense of completeness. And how grand it is when you found someone that complement yourself and have the ability to capture both yourself and the other person into one! It brings that much more security when you can love yourself three times.
I think that the Almighty have taken a great risk creating us… for when He created humanity and breathed into us His Spirit, He was essentially creating a part of Himself - a being with a free will. Didn’t He say we are gods and are children of the Most High (Psalm 82:6)? And so it is pointless to blame Adam and Eve for the sin of humanity. Had Adam and Eve not eaten from the forbidden tree, where else and when else could we have exercised this god-ability called ‘free will’ when there could be no such thing as choosing good from good? But God, despite knowing that the disobedience of two creatures will require Him to sacrifice His own Son, persisted in the creation of humanity. And since God is said to be the source of all that is love and good (Mark 10:18), perhaps He only saw the good that which was in Adam and Eve. Some love and goodness that drove God to even subject Him that had come directly from His bosom to death just to bring the whole world back to where God is able to see His ultimate purpose fulfilled! Such love and goodness that it compels the Creator to turn the heart of His creations from stones into flesh to bring us back into fellowship with Him (Ezekiel 36: 26-27)!
Isn’t it that we take the same risks when we have children? You hope for the good from your kids knowing well the tendency that your children may one day turn their backs on you? So why still have kids knowing the costs? Perhaps because nothing surpasses the elation of hearing your children tell you how much they love you. Isn’t it grand to have someone love you by their own free will without the need to beg? Free-will, both a curse and a blessing, had made it possible for us to experience anger and forgiveness, sadness and joy, hate and love, to give and receive, to be human. We need someone to love and be loved in return – attaining the perfect love, overcoming that fear and sadness of rejection.
I could sense the Creator’s heart towards us as I sense mine towards my two children – a mother’s heart to see them safe, happy, successful, healthy, reaching their potential, achieving their goals, experience and enjoy all that life is, the emotions, the trials and the hardships, make mistakes and learn from it because this is how they get to know themselves, discover things, plan things and be able to make sound decisions in life, live in an adventurous way not just survive. This must be how God wants to see us if He has His choice over our lives. If only we choose to line our will with His......
“Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…So God created man in His own image...male and female He created them. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostril the breath of life…” Genesis 1: 26, 27; 2:7 (NKJV)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Almighty's dilemma
I was coming out of the prison clinic after the end of an afternoon shift. It was eight o’clock at night and I could hear the sharp whip of thunders overhead. There must have been some lightning displays to behold but because of my immense fear of thunder I dared not look up at the night sky. I wished I didn’t have to drive half an hour through the dark highway. I could sense a heavy storm brewing but never expected to experience something that made me question God’s protection.
As I pulled out of the driveway past the prison gate, it started raining. It grew heavy as I drove. I was fighting against the decision to make a run for it before the ‘big one’ comes but it was too late by then to do anything. The rain pelted with a vengeance on the roof of my small 4WD. My wipers working overtime, couldn’t manage the amount of water thrown at it. It’s as if the heaven’s dam had burst open its floodgates and poured its anger on me. The deluge of water on the road made my car alternate between what I felt was floating and skidding. Helplessly, I had to stop but not even that was enough to pacify this great fear which was starting to overcome me. I caught a glimpse of the terrifying lightings through the blanket of water on my windshield. I wished for the safety of my home. I felt so alone and utterly vulnerable with a dreadful sense of one who is about to die. I was suddenly struck by awe of the powerful force of the Almighty on how easy it must be to destroy mankind in His anger and yet the same God is also mindful of the frailty of our human frame. It was right there a moment of humble acknowledgement and gratitude that this life is never my own (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 16:9).
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again." Psalm 78:38-39 (NKJV)
"As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14 (NKJV)
As I pulled out of the driveway past the prison gate, it started raining. It grew heavy as I drove. I was fighting against the decision to make a run for it before the ‘big one’ comes but it was too late by then to do anything. The rain pelted with a vengeance on the roof of my small 4WD. My wipers working overtime, couldn’t manage the amount of water thrown at it. It’s as if the heaven’s dam had burst open its floodgates and poured its anger on me. The deluge of water on the road made my car alternate between what I felt was floating and skidding. Helplessly, I had to stop but not even that was enough to pacify this great fear which was starting to overcome me. I caught a glimpse of the terrifying lightings through the blanket of water on my windshield. I wished for the safety of my home. I felt so alone and utterly vulnerable with a dreadful sense of one who is about to die. I was suddenly struck by awe of the powerful force of the Almighty on how easy it must be to destroy mankind in His anger and yet the same God is also mindful of the frailty of our human frame. It was right there a moment of humble acknowledgement and gratitude that this life is never my own (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 16:9).
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again." Psalm 78:38-39 (NKJV)
"As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14 (NKJV)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The tiny light
I was standing on the balcony of our hotel room on the 16th floor. Right in front of me was this dark expansive ocean save for a few scattered lights on the far horizon. I wasn’t looking for something in particular but my eyes seem to be automatically drawn to those lights. One light was slightly brighter than the rest - it must be the short distance between the shore and what seems to be the light from a ship. Just then I remembered the words of JC where He called us 'the light of the world'.
Light creates direction. It only takes one tiny light to guide a lost sailor caught in a stormy sea. In a dark ocean, it’s a sign of hope and salvation for someone who is trying to get their head above the water. And just how my eyes were drawn to focus at that distant light, a tiny light has the power to draw someone in need. Just one tiny light amidst a world of darkness. I wouldn’t have known what darkness is had I not known that light exists.
“How does one let their light shine?” I asked JC. I was once in darkness so in my heart I knew I never had a light on my own. The answer came quick and reassuring, “you don’t have to do anything, just stay with me“. The light that is in us is Jesus. Jesus said He is the light of the world. When you no longer live but Jesus in you, that’s when His light in you becomes even brighter. That light is love, it's grace, it's mercy, it's hope. That’s what draws people towards the light.
It only takes one tiny light to conquer a great darkness. Try looking at a clear night sky in the dark bush. The greater the darkness, the brighter the light. Whenever sin abounds, it is when grace abounds even more.
When the world around you seems dark, Jesus says to stay with Him, walk with Him, abide in Him, be intimate with Him.
"I am the light of the world. He [she] who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12 (NKJV)
Light creates direction. It only takes one tiny light to guide a lost sailor caught in a stormy sea. In a dark ocean, it’s a sign of hope and salvation for someone who is trying to get their head above the water. And just how my eyes were drawn to focus at that distant light, a tiny light has the power to draw someone in need. Just one tiny light amidst a world of darkness. I wouldn’t have known what darkness is had I not known that light exists.
“How does one let their light shine?” I asked JC. I was once in darkness so in my heart I knew I never had a light on my own. The answer came quick and reassuring, “you don’t have to do anything, just stay with me“. The light that is in us is Jesus. Jesus said He is the light of the world. When you no longer live but Jesus in you, that’s when His light in you becomes even brighter. That light is love, it's grace, it's mercy, it's hope. That’s what draws people towards the light.
It only takes one tiny light to conquer a great darkness. Try looking at a clear night sky in the dark bush. The greater the darkness, the brighter the light. Whenever sin abounds, it is when grace abounds even more.
When the world around you seems dark, Jesus says to stay with Him, walk with Him, abide in Him, be intimate with Him.
"I am the light of the world. He [she] who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12 (NKJV)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The funny side of JC
One would think that the whole Bible is a sombre book to read but as I have found, Jesus could be quite funny. I was no short of laughing when I re-read a passage of scripture in the New Testament (Matthew 14:15-21).
The passage defies basic logic and almost absurd. It was right of the disciples to tell Jesus to send the crowd of approximately five thousand men not including women and children to go home and find something to eat themselves. What was Jesus thinking really? There they were, in that middle of nowhere with His twelve disciples and the multitude. I don’t think anyone thought they were going out for a picnic! Then you read Jesus saying to his disciples, “All the people can stay, go and feed them“. No wonder ‘they’ have to talk him thinking that in numbers they may be able to persuade the Master. Majority usually wins, and really, who in their right mind would feed such numbers with 5 loaves and 2 fishes?! I thought to myself, 'Well, to feed the disciples, I supposed each fish can be cut out into 6 parts not including Jesus, as He may opt to fast. Too bad for whoever gets the tail and half of the head of the fish, the bread should at least make up for it'.
As I kept reading the passage, there is not even a small hint of Jesus trying to be funny. Then I imagine the disciples saying perhaps not explicitly, "Um, Master Jesus, we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish! Seriously?!“ Jesus with a straight face then says, “Bring them here to me”. Wow! What powerful words! I feel my skin tingle as I imagine Jesus saying it.
I sense that Jesus wants us to use what we already have, no matter how petty and insignificant it may appear or illogical at most times. He takes whatever we have into His hands, blesses it and makes it abundant, overflowing, and outpouring to others in need, both blessing the giver and the receiver.
And so at the end of the passage we find the disciples taking twelve baskets, one for each of them to pick up the left-over of that meal that wasn’t even enough to feed thirteen of them to begin with. Miraculously, at the end they, after Jesus had blessed the only thing they had, ‘all ate and was filled’.
The passage defies basic logic and almost absurd. It was right of the disciples to tell Jesus to send the crowd of approximately five thousand men not including women and children to go home and find something to eat themselves. What was Jesus thinking really? There they were, in that middle of nowhere with His twelve disciples and the multitude. I don’t think anyone thought they were going out for a picnic! Then you read Jesus saying to his disciples, “All the people can stay, go and feed them“. No wonder ‘they’ have to talk him thinking that in numbers they may be able to persuade the Master. Majority usually wins, and really, who in their right mind would feed such numbers with 5 loaves and 2 fishes?! I thought to myself, 'Well, to feed the disciples, I supposed each fish can be cut out into 6 parts not including Jesus, as He may opt to fast. Too bad for whoever gets the tail and half of the head of the fish, the bread should at least make up for it'.
As I kept reading the passage, there is not even a small hint of Jesus trying to be funny. Then I imagine the disciples saying perhaps not explicitly, "Um, Master Jesus, we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish! Seriously?!“ Jesus with a straight face then says, “Bring them here to me”. Wow! What powerful words! I feel my skin tingle as I imagine Jesus saying it.
I sense that Jesus wants us to use what we already have, no matter how petty and insignificant it may appear or illogical at most times. He takes whatever we have into His hands, blesses it and makes it abundant, overflowing, and outpouring to others in need, both blessing the giver and the receiver.
And so at the end of the passage we find the disciples taking twelve baskets, one for each of them to pick up the left-over of that meal that wasn’t even enough to feed thirteen of them to begin with. Miraculously, at the end they, after Jesus had blessed the only thing they had, ‘all ate and was filled’.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Time to rethink
When you start to become something out of the ordinary, people starts to notice. If you were like me, you would have been living in this world without a conviction of your own. Up until recently, I realized that everything I knew and believed in was borrowed from someone somewhere at sometime. I don’t think I had my own identity for I lived in fear of what others would think and say about me. I lived by society’s norm, not really sticking out and causing wave but not making a real difference either. I was fearful of challenging the traditions and beliefs that I grew up with in case someone gets offended.
We were endowed with a free will because God wants us to decide what really matters. We need to set our hearts on God’s word so it doesn’t just go where it wants. Religion can bind you like a prisoner. You live out of fear and not out of love. Religion says this is what a Christian should look and act like, fail that and judgement comes from those that are without divine insight that God may not be finished with you yet. Who is more perfect among us when we still very much wrestle with our flesh? Today we are good, tomorrow who knows? I for one struggle so much so that I needed to seek God's presence to straighten me out.
I know what it’s like to have fallen hard and have known the greatness of God’s grace and love. It can swim the abyss that you are drowning in, and raise you from the flesh that pulls you down. His love comes when you are at your worst and rescues you from yourself. It frees you from fears that you on your own have no power to overcome. When His grace falls, you will know who you truly are and your journey to liberation begins.
"So, If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall"! 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)
We were endowed with a free will because God wants us to decide what really matters. We need to set our hearts on God’s word so it doesn’t just go where it wants. Religion can bind you like a prisoner. You live out of fear and not out of love. Religion says this is what a Christian should look and act like, fail that and judgement comes from those that are without divine insight that God may not be finished with you yet. Who is more perfect among us when we still very much wrestle with our flesh? Today we are good, tomorrow who knows? I for one struggle so much so that I needed to seek God's presence to straighten me out.
I know what it’s like to have fallen hard and have known the greatness of God’s grace and love. It can swim the abyss that you are drowning in, and raise you from the flesh that pulls you down. His love comes when you are at your worst and rescues you from yourself. It frees you from fears that you on your own have no power to overcome. When His grace falls, you will know who you truly are and your journey to liberation begins.
"So, If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall"! 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)
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