So finally it has come, today is my last day at Crown, a chapter of life in Hong Kong ends. Though I am excited to start new life in America, I leave emotional with many memories, thoughts sad and happy, and here I am recording this post at a coffee shop to what God is speaking through the scriptures reminding me of His faithfulness and promises.
Deuteronomy 30:8-10 "And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statues which are written in this Book of Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul"
Deuteronomy 32: 10-14 "He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye, As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, So the Lord alone led him And there was no foreign God with Him
He made him ride in the heights of the earth,
That he might eat the produce of the fields;
He made him to draw honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock;
Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs;
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the choicest wheat;
And you drank wine, the blood of grapes"
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Focus
Read this one on Jimmy's blog, I had to put this on mine ...thanks Jimmy for the permission. All I did was add the title and it seems to be a right fit for the post.
May this reading bless and enrich your heart.
It was written by a young African Pastor who had tacked it to the wall of his home. He was later killed for what he believed and practiced.**********
I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer and labor by Power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me - my banner will be clear.
Blessings and Shalom,
May this reading bless and enrich your heart.
It was written by a young African Pastor who had tacked it to the wall of his home. He was later killed for what he believed and practiced.**********
I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer and labor by Power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me - my banner will be clear.
Blessings and Shalom,
Friday, August 12, 2005
Mercy is Falling like a sweet sweet rain
It’s a long time that I haven't blogged but in this period of waiting and good blessings I just not have had time to put my praises into phrases. Recording it in ink (or bytes) is important as I may forget my daily praises to what God is doing in my life. So here it comes...
I have been studying the first five books of Law and want to record things that have immensely blessed me, may this reading (whoever is reading) also bless you from my heart to yours. In the book of Numbers Chapter 20 there is an account of Moses’ error at Kadesh.
The account tells us when the children of Israel were in the wilderness they grumbled against Moses and the Lord as they had no water to drink. When Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord, the Lord's glory appears at the door of the tabernacle. He instructs Moses to speak to the rock (notice speak not strike ch 20 vs: 8), but poor Moses in his rashness strikes the rock twice and the waters come out abundantly and the bible says the congregation and their animals drank. What impressed me in this account was Moses clearly disobeyed but still God supplied the needs of the people by providing them water. As a child I often thought the waters that came out of the rock might have been trickles or small streams...can you imagine if that was the case the two or three million people who were there would have perished, but what happened was rivers flowed into the desert so these vast multitude of people and their animals could drink abundantly. The third thing I learnt was in Numbers the Lord tells the people of Israel that ten times you have grumbled and not trusted me (literally you can count all the ten times) and so He tells them none of you shall inherit the promised land, on the other hand Moses in the entire journey has committed only one mistake and God judges him that he will not set foot on the promised land but shall die before entering it. The lesson I learn from here is God holds higher standards for the leader even when he commits a small mistake but with the congregation of people He waits mercifully. We see the same principle in Leviticus when the Lord gives His laws to the children of Israel, when a common man sins he is required to offer a female goat (which is cheap in cattle terms) as restitution but when a priest sins (who is in leadership position) he had to offer a bull (which was expensive in those days). Our God is a just God, full of mercy and compassion. The best blessing to my heart in this account was though Moses disobeyed and messed up, God punished him but God in His soverignity made a way of honoring His servant. Thousands of years later God gives Moses the honor to stand with Jesus on Mt.Carmel at the transfiguration. Oh! what a blessing...when I learnt this I was in tears... getting a peek into the heart of our God, truly He is merciful and just, compassionate and keeping His mercy and promise to thousand generations.
May the Lord, God of Israel be your peace and great reward.
Shalom and Blessings,
I did not know what to title this one, was reminded of a song 'Mercy is falling like a sweet sweet rain'...surely God's mercy is like a sweet rain falling and lifting us every day. I post a couple more things that I have learnt in my next few posts.
I have been studying the first five books of Law and want to record things that have immensely blessed me, may this reading (whoever is reading) also bless you from my heart to yours. In the book of Numbers Chapter 20 there is an account of Moses’ error at Kadesh.
The account tells us when the children of Israel were in the wilderness they grumbled against Moses and the Lord as they had no water to drink. When Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord, the Lord's glory appears at the door of the tabernacle. He instructs Moses to speak to the rock (notice speak not strike ch 20 vs: 8), but poor Moses in his rashness strikes the rock twice and the waters come out abundantly and the bible says the congregation and their animals drank. What impressed me in this account was Moses clearly disobeyed but still God supplied the needs of the people by providing them water. As a child I often thought the waters that came out of the rock might have been trickles or small streams...can you imagine if that was the case the two or three million people who were there would have perished, but what happened was rivers flowed into the desert so these vast multitude of people and their animals could drink abundantly. The third thing I learnt was in Numbers the Lord tells the people of Israel that ten times you have grumbled and not trusted me (literally you can count all the ten times) and so He tells them none of you shall inherit the promised land, on the other hand Moses in the entire journey has committed only one mistake and God judges him that he will not set foot on the promised land but shall die before entering it. The lesson I learn from here is God holds higher standards for the leader even when he commits a small mistake but with the congregation of people He waits mercifully. We see the same principle in Leviticus when the Lord gives His laws to the children of Israel, when a common man sins he is required to offer a female goat (which is cheap in cattle terms) as restitution but when a priest sins (who is in leadership position) he had to offer a bull (which was expensive in those days). Our God is a just God, full of mercy and compassion. The best blessing to my heart in this account was though Moses disobeyed and messed up, God punished him but God in His soverignity made a way of honoring His servant. Thousands of years later God gives Moses the honor to stand with Jesus on Mt.Carmel at the transfiguration. Oh! what a blessing...when I learnt this I was in tears... getting a peek into the heart of our God, truly He is merciful and just, compassionate and keeping His mercy and promise to thousand generations.
May the Lord, God of Israel be your peace and great reward.
Shalom and Blessings,
I did not know what to title this one, was reminded of a song 'Mercy is falling like a sweet sweet rain'...surely God's mercy is like a sweet rain falling and lifting us every day. I post a couple more things that I have learnt in my next few posts.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Three Brothers
parrot 
I heard this one from a speaker who came to our church last Sunday...enjoy!
There were three brothers who lived in a part of Hong Kong called Mong Kok (most densely populated area of Hong Kong). They were poor and lived with their mom. Through the struggles of their mom they survived, got by with good education. All the three worked hard in their businesses and eventually prospered and became very rich. Not just rich but very rich! Their business empires spanned nations and on the 60th birthday of their mother they all got together and decided to honor their mom. The eldest brother proposed that he would buy mother a 5000 sq ft apartment in Mid level's (less densely populated part of Hong Kong) so she can live comfortably and leave that dingy little place in Mong Kok. The second brother said well if you are giving a flat I will give her a Rolls Royce Phantom with a chauffeur to drive her around the town. The third brother who had connections all across the world thought since mother is a Christian and wants a talking companion he would buy her a talking parrot which he would teach to recite the whole Bible. The birthday came and the three brothers offered their gifts to their mother. After a few months the mother requested the eldest son that she wanted to give him the flat back as she was quite lonely in the big place and wanted to return to her small apartment in Mong Kok. She likewise returned the Rolls Royce to the second son saying that it was too big a car and she literally had to shout at the chauffeur from the backseat for him to hear. She finally called the third son and said, 'Now you are a son who knows my tastes in life thank you...the parrot was delicious'
I heard this one from a speaker who came to our church last Sunday...enjoy!
There were three brothers who lived in a part of Hong Kong called Mong Kok (most densely populated area of Hong Kong). They were poor and lived with their mom. Through the struggles of their mom they survived, got by with good education. All the three worked hard in their businesses and eventually prospered and became very rich. Not just rich but very rich! Their business empires spanned nations and on the 60th birthday of their mother they all got together and decided to honor their mom. The eldest brother proposed that he would buy mother a 5000 sq ft apartment in Mid level's (less densely populated part of Hong Kong) so she can live comfortably and leave that dingy little place in Mong Kok. The second brother said well if you are giving a flat I will give her a Rolls Royce Phantom with a chauffeur to drive her around the town. The third brother who had connections all across the world thought since mother is a Christian and wants a talking companion he would buy her a talking parrot which he would teach to recite the whole Bible. The birthday came and the three brothers offered their gifts to their mother. After a few months the mother requested the eldest son that she wanted to give him the flat back as she was quite lonely in the big place and wanted to return to her small apartment in Mong Kok. She likewise returned the Rolls Royce to the second son saying that it was too big a car and she literally had to shout at the chauffeur from the backseat for him to hear. She finally called the third son and said, 'Now you are a son who knows my tastes in life thank you...the parrot was delicious'
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