trembling at god's word

listening to pastor andrew speak about isaiah 65 and 66. he made an interesting point which got me thinking. trembling at god's word means not doubting it. doubting god's word is actually putting us go the judgement seat and judging god's word. but trembling at god's word is really putting god first and trusting it fully thereby trembling at its truth.

this is something that struck me about the arrogance of our approach to the bible. that we pick and choose the relevant on our terms.

at the root, god esteems the humble and the contrite who puts god's first. isn't that the root of a relationship? that we honour god and he will honour us. of course there'll be a cost to this. we'll be hated by the world. isaiah 65:5.

what does all these mean in light of a post NDR singapore? god tells us not to place our hope in worldly things. while the promise of a new singapore is heady, we should also know it'll come to pass. more babies or not, judgement will come. the new earth amd heaven will come.

our work of spreading the good news will have to go on. with even more urgency as more become more content in this world and less aware of human failing.

Been watching a Band of Brothers a fair bit. Am now at episode 9. Episode 7 was a blast. literally. Soldiers living out the value of comradeship, the importance of leadership, etc. The trip to Perhentian was, in some ways, that kind of trip. No, we weren't heading out to battle, but we were heading out together. We clustered in our "foxholes" for the night, talking, thinking, reminiscing. We made memories, and we enjoyed the coming together of persons sojourning in our passage through this world. We came out stronger, and made a vow to meet every National Day, on such trips, to collect our thoughts, to make sense of the living, and to hope for the future. We are not the 101st Battalion, but we were brothers and sisters in Christ, who knew our everyday battles in our workplace and in our lives needed that someone to stand by us, to keep us warm, to give us comfort, and to point to the One who gives us hope. Smile!

Here's looking at you babe! How often do we look at our wives? Our eyes rove, our hearts stray. We live lives of sin with darkened hearts. Yet, where our eyes are, there our hearts are also -- to paraphrase JC. I am glad this photo caught me looking at Ruth. It captures a moment I want to capture in my mind, forever.

under the sun

what does it mean to be under the sun. technically we're all living on the earth's surface which the sun runs over every day. so we all do. though to be even more technically precise we actually go round the sun. my point is not astronomical. it is to say that we live each day not knowing our place, not knowing where we are.

at work we fret about the opinion of bosses. at home, some of us feel we'll never be truly one with our wives. we forget reality, we forget our place in God's perfect plan.

i am writing this on the lovely white beach on perhentian resort, with the sun in my eyes as i endeavour to tan my fat thighs which are white as boiled hainanese chicken. we all some distance to give us perspective on our daily grind. it's easy to just grit one's teeth and just pressing on blindly. but god won't have it this way. he brought us here to think about how we're going to live the remaining 45 years of our lives: fully conscious of his love permeating every pore of our existence, or as self willed petulant children mucking our way to disaster?

one thing that god taught me on this trip was the importance of putting oneness with my wife first before my own desires. when i forget that, i deprive myself and ruth the true bliss of marriage.

another thing that i learnt is that i need not feel trapped by work. all the frustrations at work are but illusions. my true boss is pleased with me so long as i have loved and put him first in my calculations. when i feel angry, i should just think that god cares as much about how i have treated his little ones and those he's shown great compassion for.

on a trivial but important note, i also learnt that i love my wife more than diving. it may seem trivial but it's an important step for me to cross :)

p.s. i don't think my thighs are getting any darker. sigh.

Envying the Simple

When God decided to be human, he chose to be a carpenter. The significance
of this should not be lost on us. He could chosen to be an civil
administrator, or a tax collector, a doctor, or a myriad of other "socially
enviable" positions. No, he chose to work with his hands to make an honest
living. Same with Paul. He did not choose some high-flying career. He just
made tents. Enough to get by, he said. And an occupation much in demand,
says historians/theologians.

There's this cleaning lady who comes to my office to clear my trash every
day. Mid-30s, she's always working hard and jovial. Once in a while, she
will sit by the pantry to have her quiet tea. I asked her if she was happy
once. She said every one has family troubles -- she has her fair share. But
she spoke about her work with an ease and comfort that officer workers,
particularly civil servants, may find difficult to summon. I clean every
day, and work to make a living, she says, smiling.

I said I envied her. She did not seem surprised.

We make too much of our work.

I took this photo in one of the caves we visited with my parents back in 2002. Somewhere near Wuxi. It caught my then and it sums up how I feel these days. When one is burnt out, it's got to be left alone, to walk the lonely lane. But now that I'm married, the dynamics are a bit different. I can't just clam up and sit in one corner ... I need to love Ruth as well. It's not an easy balance ... between needing space and wanting to show love.