Day #38

Absolutely freezing today (compared to the average temperature of the week anyway), must be the near 24 hour rain yesterday.

And the second framework we read Ephesians in was :

2. WHAT DOES THE KINGDOM OF GOD LOOK LIKE?

Coming back to the first chapter, is the Kingdom of God where we are destined to be in? It is already here amongst us, for surely we have been abundantly blessed according to His grace, lest we should worry excessively (although we still do, most of the time).

The same element of change exists here as well - in the Kingdom, we will no longer be strangers and foreigners, but fellow brothers and sisters pursuing the same faith, and clinging on to the same hope, the hope of resurrection. We will be part of God's family, which he has always wanted for us to be a part of. There is also the symbolism of putting off the old man and putting on the new one, whereby we cut all ties to our former self, having been born again into the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is also a place of worship, of adoration; a place where we come, humbled and broken at the feet at the cross, to just remain in awe in the presence of our God. It will be a place where all of us have varying gifts, tools, to build up a separate part of the Kingdom, but all working together, in unison, towards a common goal. It also implies fellowship, a community, the simple fact that knowing someone else might be right there sharing your joys and your suffering.

But if I were to attempt to sum up the Kingdom in one word, it would be none other than Love.

For if not for love, none of us would even exist, none of this would be here, and nothing else would even matter. But such is the heart of God, our heavenly Father and Creator, whom we serve.

Prayer : Dear Lord, we know it is out of Your love that we are where we are in the world today, and we can never thank You enough for that. Continue to work in us and through us even as we work out in faith, what the Kingdom should be like and is like for us, as individuals, and as a single body in You. Let Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Day #37

Rained all day today, damp and wet.

Anyways the last of the readings is over, as the 40 day fast draws to a close. Just thought I'd spend a little more time on the 4 main contextual frames we decided to read Ephesians in.

4 days to go, 4 concepts to rethink on. Perfect.

1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HEIRS TO THE KINGDOM?

Ephesians begins by saying we are all children of God, predestined by Him. We all have a destiny, and He has a plan for each and every one of us. We have an inheritance in God, and in His kingdom, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That's what being heirs to the kingdom literally means - that we are all destined to be part of the kingdom.

The importance of change is also much emphasized. From our old self to our new one, from darkness to light. Being saved from the bondage of slavery, of sin, we should actively put to death our old man, our old habits and ways and thoughts, and be renewed in mind and spirit. That includes ceasing our old beliefs, our old methods, our old agendas, and rebuild our faith and our hope in Christ, the cornerstone of the church, and the unmovable rock of ages.

God is ever willing to reveal the plans He has in mind for us, but most of the time it's just us who simply aren't listening. Learn to tune into the same wave length as our Father, and we will soon see that His blessings really are abundant, that His mercies really do have no end, and His love is more than sufficient to meet our every need, according to the riches of His glory.

As heirs, we should therefore strive to be compassionate, just as Jesus was constantly moved with compassion, and to love, just as God has first loved us. For it is out of the heart of God, not by our own strength or understanding, that we have been saved. Never forget that, ever.

And last but not least, God has given different members of the body different and unique skills to use, but it is our responsibility to cultivate those skills, to see the, blossom, and most importantly ensure that they glorify God, and edify the body in the process, that we may continue growing stronger in the Lord.

Prayer : Father God, we thank You once again for bestowing upon us this wonderful privilege to be Your children, and to be heirs to Your kingdom o Lord. We pray and ask this day that you continue to mold and shape us, even as we learn to seek Your face and listen to Your words, in our daily pursuit of You. Keep us safe, and keep us strong in You. We ask of this in Jesus' name, Amen.

Day #36

Sometimes I just wonder why we feel the way we feel.

Final Chapter of reading for the 40 days. I guess I will miss this after all.

"..praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit..." Eph 6:18

Maybe that's all we need?

But why does it seem so hard for me to actually do it?

Prayer is our instant hotline to God, our communications channel with no breakups, no signal losses, and perfect transmissions. So it should come second nature to us, right? Not for me, though. Why do I feel so helpless?

...

Prayer : "You are my strength when I am weak... You are the treasure that I seek... You are my all in all.... Seeking you as a precious jewel.... Lord to give up I would be a fool... You are my all in all...."
"Jesus... Lamb of God... worthy is Your name.... Jesus... Lamb of God... worthy is Your name."
"Taking my sin my cross my shame, rising again I bless Your name, You are my all in all... When I fall down You pick me up, when I am dry You fill my cup, You are my all in all..."
"Jesus, Lamb of God.... worthy.... is Your name.... Jesus... Lamb of God.... worthy is Your name."
Amen.

Day #35

Woo! Five more days of fasting to go!

Onto Ephesians 5 for the final time.

"...walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord." Eph 5:10

That is one of the positions we should take up.

Walking as children of light. What does that mean to you?

There is a rather noticeable difference between darkness and light. And in the same way, we are very much different from those who do not believe, who do not yet have the opportunity to have such a meaningful and personal relationship with our creator God.

Indeed, as darkness and light can never mix, so holiness and unholiness can never mix as well. And our God is a God who hates sin and who despises unholiness. Yet He has lovingly sent His son to die for us. Knowing so, being obedient and finding ways to please Him is about the LEAST we can do in return, for we will never be able to repay that history making act of love, and for the constant multitude of blessings we receive each day.

Light. It makes the difference between seeing and not seeing. It does not go unnoticed, it does not hide, it does not sneak or creep by. In that same way, even as we let our passions (first for God and then for our desires) plot our paths (with the guidance from God) and walk through them in faith, we should probably bear in mind that we are purposed as the image bearers of our Father.

And in all things, we should never forget to rejoice in Him and worship, for He is the reason we are alive today. Plus, I'm sure God takes great pleasure from our adoration.

Prayer : Dear Jesus, You are the light of the world, sent to lead Your people out of slavery and into freedom. You are the complete and perfect embodiment of the Father's love. We pray that You make each and every one of us small lights in wherever areas we have been planted in, whatever passions we may have been given, so that others may be drawn by the light they see in us, and may come to know Your saving grace O Lord. Make that our passion, we pray. Amen.

Day #34

"...with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love." Eph 4:12

And there you have it. As mentioned many times previously, being united in spirit is a very important factor to be observed in a community. We all have our own missions, our own callings, our own passions, but they should all work out to the glory of God, and the edification of the body we are all a part of.

So how should our positions change, knowing this is the case?

The verse is pretty much clear cut, and straight to the point.

'Bear with one another in love.'

One. It implies that we will be faced with situations where we cannot live with what other people are thinking, doing, or how they do it. That is to be expected - after all, we are human, and it is human nature to resist things which are not of our own mould, to resist any sort of change to the environment we are used to. But, knowing this, we are then asked to bear with each other, knowing full well that they have to bear with our quirky habits as well. And we do this not out of compulsion, not out of obligation, not because we are 'better' than them - no absolutely not - but IN love.

The word 'in' here seems to suggest that we actually have to make an active effort to bear with other people if we want to do it in love. Simply bearing with them just because we have to is nowhere near enough, and is beside the point. Doing it in love means we acknowledge we are not perfect, but that does not matter with us - it does not matter with God, right? Besides, aren't we all called to love our neighbours as ourselves?

I'm sure we love ourselves very much.

"that you put off, concerning your former conduct, your old man... and be renewed in the spirit of your mind." Eph 4:22-23

Again 'put off' here signifies a conscious decision to put it off, to take off our old man and not be burdened by it anymore.

For as long as we are still living by our old ways, how can expect God to continue His work in us? He is ready, but we are not, continually delaying and delaying His plans for us.

Going through life, we sometimes find we hit a rut in our journey, where everything seems to be going by so fast, it's all we can do to try to keep up. And we eventually get stuck and bogged down into a daily routine, living each day just to get by, just to get by. Time to wake up! Where is the sense of freshness, the sense of renewal we should have each day? After all, aren't we likened to be trees by the river of life, the river of rejoicing?

Indeed, God's plan for our lives couldn't have been more simple, if only we choose to have faith, to have hope, and to love.

Prayer : Father in heaven how we love you. Today we pray You will imprint Your love on our hearts, that we will choose the way of love, to walk in love, simple because You have chose to love us first. Give us a forgiving heart and a composed temperament, slow to anger, quick to listen, and the last to speak. But most importantly, teach us how to live our lives, the way You intended us to. Amen.

Day #33

"...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man." Eph 3:16

It is always comforting to know that we can count on God to be there for us, no matter when or where. He knows us inside and out, knows our strengths and weaknesses, our tolerances and our limits, and He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are capable of handling. His grace is always sufficient for us, day in and day out. He remains faithful to us even when we do not do the same. And He is ever loving and ever forgiving.

Why then, do we constantly turn away from Him?

And why is it then, that our passion is not Him and Him alone?

And why, are we still unwilling to place our lives, to surrender our all completely into His hands, but instead adopt a position of leaning on our own understanding, of stubbornness and even ignorance?

God is always wanting to bless us with more, but how can He give us more when we haven't yet done anything with what we already have? If He cannot trust us to accomplish simple tasks and instructions, how can He then entrust us with much bigger ones? Blessings are not blessings if we keep them to ourselves.

The more we bless others, the more God is able to bless you.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Eph 3:20

A very powerful promise from God, and I have never noticed the last two words of that verse, in all previous 4 readings of Ephesians.

For no matter how abundant, how excessive, how overflowing are the blessings God wants to pour on us, it will not matter if we are not ready to receive it. If we do not position ourselves to receive the blessings which God has willed upon our lives, who are we to blame anyone else for it?

Do we, then, even deserve those blessings?

Prayer : Dear God, teach me today where to place myself to receive Your blessings, and teach me today to be open to Your word, Your voice, Your calling, and Your truth o Lord. Once again we ask that You forgive us for turning away from Your name and falling back on our own understanding. We wish to lead lives pleasing in Your sight Father. Help us we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Day #32

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10

Familiar verse, one which ties in with how our passions and positions should be interacting.

Again, the fact that we are His workmanship should imply that we are created in His image, and to bear the same characteristics as our creator. However somewhere along the line that plan has gone awry, however God has not given up on us yet. We were created also 'for good works' - hence the position we adopt when responding to God's call very heavily influences our growth and our personal walk with God.

And tying back to Chapter 1, even though we are predestined sons and daughters of God, are we expecting it? Do we constantly look up towards Him, ever ready to receive his guidance and instruction? Or are we always focused on our situation, our circumstances?

Having no passion is one thing; having the passion but not the position to embrace it is quite a different thing altogether! Both are equally important, and absolutely crucial if we intend to live our lives to the extent of fullness that God wants us to have.

There is also the mention of Jesus as the chief cornerstone in our lives. He led by example, and was the perfect embodiment, the ultimate expression of God's love for His creation. Everything we do in life, whether big or small, should always be under girded by the love of God, and through faith in Him, because we have a hope in Christ Jesus. And what better to anchor our lives to but the unwavering rock of ages, who remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow?

Perhaps it is time that we find joy in embracing whatever plans God has in store for us, and rejoice in the fact that Dad does know indeed know best.

Prayer : Dear God, we thank You for Your unceasing love for us. We thank You that we can look forward to another day, another day in Your presence, another day to rejoice in the truth and hope You have given us. We pray that even as we discover Your plans and purposes for our lives, that we will learn the right positions, the right postures to respond to You, Lord, all for the glory of Your name. Amen.

Day #31

Ephesians! For the 5th and final reading through - yes it's the last quarter of the 40 day fast, time flies so quickly indeed.

And this week's theme, in line with the church, is about passion and position. What are the things we are passionate for? And more importantly, how are we positioning ourselves in order to nurture that passion?

Chapter 1 of Ephesians places rather heavy emphasis on the fact that all of us have been predestined by God - our lives have been plotted out by Him even before we existed. But knowing that, being predestined for something and having the passion for something are completely different.

Consider this : A well known rich doctor is about to retire. He has left a legacy so rich and so fruitful for his young son to pursue that as long as he goes down the same path his father did, he would not even have to worry for the rest of his life. Yet, what if the son has no interest in medicine? What if he wants to become a lawyer instead? Or, maybe a musician. He might have been predestined to be a doctor by his father but does not have the passion to do so.

It is worth nothing, however, that God's ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts higher than our thoughts, and His plan and purpose for us is always the best, for He wants nothing but good things for us.

Which leads us back to the question I asked earlier in the 40 days : are we living for ourselves (having passion for the things that we want, the things we feel are important) or are we living it for God (being passionate about the things of God, being a man after God's own heart) ?

Needless to say, it is often always easier to give in and live for ourselves, for that gives us the most satisfaction - our passions and the passions God wants us to have might be startlingly different. And only through discernment will we be able to realize that our passions are often too narrow minded - our Father has something much bigger in mind for all of us!

Listen to God, tune out the desires of your heart, of your mind, of your flesh. What passion is He calling you to today?

Prayer : Dear God, I confess we sometimes do not realize the extent of the greatness of Your plans and purposes for our lives. We pray we will always strive to seek You first even while pursuing our passions, and that You stir up the fire in our hearts, that we will be aflame for You, and for the things that You take pleasure in, o Father. Help us fix our minds on You, that we might not stray from the path You have made our feet to walk down. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 

Day #30

No reading for today, although we did go through 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 during our short meet up at Chris' place this morning.

The former talks about unity in diversity, and the latter regarding love - both topics are covered in Ephesians, perhaps with a little more depth here.

I am reminded that, no matter who we are, who our gifting, we are just as important as the person next to us. Just as indispensable. We matter in the body of Christ, for it is not about us. Just like every cell, every tissue, every organ in our body - meaningless on their own, separated from the body, yet the body simply cannot function without any of them.

And love. All the characteristics of what defines love. Without love, everything we say, think or do will lose its context, will have been for nothing, and will gain us nothing.

But put both these 2 concepts together, read them in the same context. And it's suddenly a whole different ballgame.

All our lives, we will be inevitably caught up in a journey to pursue our own interests, to perfect our very own area of expertise, be it a single skill or a series of interrelated ones. Then we will devote our time, energy, our willpower and mindpower to achieving that particular expertise, to ensure its development.

Agreed - skills and gifts certainly help you go a long way in life, but that's almost all there is to it. And all of that will eventually be meaningless in eternity.

Faith, hope, and love. These are the things which cannot be cultivated overnight - in fact we spend most of our lives trying to get there, yet never really will. What then, does this mean for us? What are we really loving for?

Sometimes, it's just not easy to choose to have faith. It's not easy to choose hope. It's not easy, even, to love.

And that, is worrying.

Prayer : Dear Lord, once again I find myself at Your feet, feeling very confused, very afraid. What if I haven't enough faith? What if I haven't enough hope? What if I haven't loved enough? What if...? I need Your guidance Father, lead me I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Day #29

"With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." Eph 6:7

A verse revisited in a rather different context.

Question : how much of a grip do preconceptions have in our lives today?

We look at something or someone, we automatically start assigning stereotypical attributes to them; we start categorizing and separating them; we begin putting boxes around them; labeling them like insects in a Biology project; we start comparing.

Why does it happen? Should it be happening at all?

And then there's conception based on past experience. Someone shows up 5 minutes late for a prearranged meet up, we immediately remember them as 'not punctual'. Someone, out of sheer forgetfulness, forgets to return a loaned item, we label them as 'ungrateful'.

Years of friendship, trust, any relationship at all, shattered in one swift blow, sometimes caused by the tiniest and most insignificant of riffs.

Just because they've never done wrong before, does not mean they aren't allowed mistakes, does it?

Forgive and forget. Which is the easier?

I would say forgiving is the the okay one, the one which is easier to get it over and done with.

"I forgive you, sure. Just don't do it again, otherwise I will not forgive you the next time." How is that forgiving and forgetting? Forgiveness with a condition? Is that truly forgiving?

Whenever someone does us wrong, we tend to act fine with forgiving them, but often do not make an active point to forget it. What happens the next time they make the same mistake? we suddenly 'remember' their previous faults, remember it happened before, and all the ugly details surface once again.

Now imagine God doing that to us. Us sinful creatures, drawn inexplicably back into our own ways like moths to a flame. Everytime we sin, we ask for His forgiveness. And He graciously forgives us. And we sin again. And again. And yet again. What if God refused to forgive us the second time just because 'I have forgiven you once already, and what good has that done?' and the third time? And the time after that?

Yet our Father forgives us every. single. time. He never remembers our mistakes, but does not forget the cries of our heart, our faith, and our worship and adoration.

Think about it.

Prayer : Dear Lord, I am lost. And sorry. And confused. And a whole lot of other feelings all at the same time. The world is a big and busy place; teach me not to judge without first judging myself, and even then judge not out of spite, but out of compassion. Removed the tinted lenses I am seeing the world with, that I may treat all of Your creation like You have treated us - with grace and love. I really need your help. I cannot do this on my own. Help me.


Amen.

Day #28

"Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the Church; and He is the saviour of the body." Eph 5:22-23

Instead of adopting the more specific husband-wife perspective, I guess I'm considering it from a much broader bird's eye view.

The short passage that follows after that refers heavily to the concept of submission.

What is submission?

From what I understand, submission can mean ' a deference of authority to another person', or even 'giving up your chance to lead so others can.'

And we choose to submit, not out of fear, not out of compulsion, but out of love.

Sometimes submission brings out the best in the people you are submitting to. In order to lead well, one must first learn how to serve, and follow.

Take Jesus as our ultimate example. The son of God, not once did he shy away from serving, from following, even though he was sent as our Messiah, the one who would lead us out from slavery. Following and serving are thus very real postures of submission, and ones we sometimes neglect.

It's because we acknowledge there is a higher power, a higher calling, so it should come to us as only natural to submit. Even though we are perfectly capable of taking control of our lives (or not), out of love we should choose to be submissive in all things to our Father, and surrender our lives, which He gave us by grace in the first place, back to Him.

Prayer : God, I confess i have not been submissive like Your word says. Forgive my stubbornness and soften my heart. Teach me the posture of humility, of patience, and of love. We know it has never been, and never will be, about us, but all about You Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Day #27

Hmmm....

several themes catching my eye, but I think I'll go with this :

Eph 4:13-16

"..till we all come to the unity of the faith and..." v13

Unity is again mentioned here. I know I've pretty much gone over it in length yesterday, but here I think it is in a slightly different context. It is important for us not only to have faith, but also be united with one another in that same faith. What is there to be gained from flexing your faith muscles, so to speak, if it causes discord and strife? Above all, unity should be given a sense of priority, because it concerns something much bigger than ourselves.

"...should no longer be children, tossed to and fro..." v14

I wonder why the word children is used here. Are we not encouraged to have a childlike faith, a childlike trust in God? Or perhaps, the 'tossing to and fro' indicates the immaturity of our thoughts and the possible lack of a firm belief, one we cling on tightly. Are we really that easily swayed by thoughts of doubt, false truths and half lies?

"...but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into all things into Him who is the head - Christ -" v15

Speaking the truth in love... doesn't that sum up our mission in live rather neatly? To proclaim the truth about our Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ, about God's grace and our salvation, and do so IN LOVE?

In fact, I think love and truth are so closely intertwined with each other it is sometimes hard to separate the two.

The truth is love:
The truth about our God is just that - God IS love. He sent his son for us, the ultimate expression of love a father can possibly show. He continually forgives us our trespasses, he renews His grace daily, every single day, He has plans and a future for us, all because He loves us.

Love is the truth:
Nothing else can be more real, more tangible, and more amazing than love. To love another means to acknowledge the truth that our Father first loved us, and we are a product of His love. And to love God in return simply means responding to that truth, to say YES to his calling, and to surrender our all to Him.

"...from whom the whole body, joined and knit together... causes growth in the body for the edifying of itself in love." v16

As we grow, as we interact, and as we share, we are encouraging each other to grow even more, thus edifying the body as a whole. This can only happen if we are one in the spirit, unified. And it happens in a cycle as well - more unity --> more growth --> more unity --> more growth once again. Endlessly building upon itself, such is the power of love and unity.

Is there anything stopping us from returning back to the very heart of God - love?

Prayer : Dear Lord, we thank You once again for loving us. And we want to show that same love to others, so that they too, will know Your love and in turn share that with others. Forgive the immaturity of our hearts; we want more of You today, come and fill us Lord, for we are thirsty for more. And teach us to love, like You have first loved us. Amen.

Day #26

Alrighty!

Time to make up for lost time. Just realized how fast a day can go by before you know it. Anyways.

Will do Chapter 2 and 3 today since I missed 2 yesterday.

"...in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,..." Eph 2:21

And I guess this is what the 40 days seem to be converging to, as the end of it draws ever so near. It's the realization that ultimately, there is something bigger than us, something with a much different sense of purpose. For we are all part of the family of God, growing together as one body in the Lord, towards the holiness that God has called us to be.

Again, I find myself fascinated by the fact that there exists this wonderful sense of belongingness, this sense of...family, that is really encouraging. Especially, I guess, in times of hardship. We know, then, that we are not alone - for we have God with us, and we have our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ with us, some of whom might be going through the same situation as ourselves.

Be it suffering or joy, there is a sense of peace and calm by knowing that you are sharing it with someone else. It might not be someone you know; that person might not know you in return, but regardless, you know that you're not the only one experiencing it. Perhaps that gives us hope, knowing there's someone out there in the darkness like you, clinging onto your candle, the only light you have.

When we succeed, there is someone there to give us a pat on the back; when we are in a rut, there is someone to egg us onwards; when we stumble and fall, there will be someone there to pick us up onto our feet; when we are lost and feeling the blues, there is someone to encourage us. This is what community is truly meant to be, I think. A Common Unity? What a beautiful phrase to behold.

"...from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named..." Eph 3:15

We are all sons and daughters of the living God, and we are meant to take our Father's image. We will always fall short, but by grace we are still able to come to his throne room to worship, to call him Abba Father. Let us then not forget to be united in strength and spirit, even as we live out our own lives according to God's plan.

Prayer : Dear God, we come before You today not only as individuals, but as much more - as a body deeply rooted in You, a body that has chosen to surrender its all to You. Help us realize the importance of maintaining unity in a community, and teach us to love another, to forgive one another like You have forgave us. Thank You for today. Amen.

Day #25

Unfortunately couldn't find the time to blog today, just a blank entry in my journal, too.

Day #24

"And He put all things under His feet..." Eph 1:22

And suddenly something sparked in my mind.

Flashback a few hours ago, when I was doing the dishes, with my usual sponge. And it was the pot's turn under the tap. But try as I did, I could not get rid of a particular stain on the bottom of it. It just refused to budge! Frustrated, I tried scrubbing harder, and harder, but to no avail. The stain remained there defiantly.

Now exasperated, I began attacking the stain vigorously with the sponge, determined to have it gone once and for all, no matter what. All it got me was a couple of sore fingers.

As I eyed the stain, I suddenly realised, as my gaze fell upon it, I had a steel ball scourer lying just beside the sponge I had just discarded.

Now why hadn't I thought about using this before?

Immediately I set it to work and to my delight, the stain finally yielded. And it did not even take me a few seconds of scrubbing. And it was then that it struck me, a lingering thought in my mind.

I did not make the relation then, but I certainly do now.

The sponge represents our weaknesses, our inabilities, our stubbornness; while the scourer is the amazing power of God.

For how many times have I obstinately, stubbornly, even arrogantly demand to rely on my own "knowledge", my own "experience", my own "ability" to tackle problems? No matter big or small, my first instinct was usually 'Hey I can handle this.'

I know God is far greater than my problems and my circumstances, and I know that He who is in me is definitely greater than he who is in the world. Yet, time and again I keep coming back to the point where I choose to lean on my own fragile self, rather than depend on God, our rock of faithfulness. The first thing that comes to mind is always to try to solve it on our own strengths, instead of surrendering the problem to God.

And like the sponge, I will often fail.

When will I learn to start using the steel ball scourer as my default response, instead of doing it the hard way every time?

Prayer : Dear Lord, thank You for reminding me that I have not been relying on You as much as I should have. Forgive me for choosing to lean on my own understanding rather than choosing to rest in Your grace. I want to depend on You Lord. Teach me to remember that. For You are Jehovah Jireh, my provider, who will provide me with every need according to Your riches in glory. I want to place my trust in You, I want to place my whole life in Your hands. Teach me how to, Father. Amen.

Day #23

Still a very cold day today.

Rest day! Should I do a complete rest? Perhaps I should spend some time just listening.

Yeah, I think I'll do that. Didn't have much time to listen over the week. Always good to quieten our hearts and learn to listen, and then to respond.

Prayer : Dear Lord, once again I find myself at a crossroads, where I seem to have more questions than answers, but I believe You will reveal them to me in Your special way, in Your own special time, for You are the author and finisher of our faith. May Your presence continue to lead us and guide us as we place our trust in You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Day #22

Wow, today is freezing. Been raining non-stop for almost 12 hours now, with no signs of the clouds letting out. Combined with the wind, not a good day to be out and about. Wet and damp.

Reversed a little bit today, went back and finished chapter 5 since I accidentally did chapter 6 yesterday. haha.

"...let no one deceive you with empty words..." Eph 5 : 6

What do empty words here refer to? Simply things that sound wrong to us? What does empty sound like? Maybe empty promises? Or sayings which might go against what we firmly believe in, what the word of God says. Lies, perhaps? Even half-truths?

Either way, two things are pretty clear in this warning.

1. We WILL be tempted and misled, as we live our lives day by day. Hence going about our work convincing ourselves (falsely) that it will not happen simply does not work. Even if you somehow did manage to convince yourself so, you will just be all the more unprepared to face it when it does come. Main point is, we should not feel any sense of obligation whatsoever to allow other opinions and ideas to shake our belief in God. Sure, they might make sense, and they might sound reasonable, logical - then again, aren't all beautiful lies so? They make sense, they sound right, just like the salesman proudly and shamelessly proclaiming that the brand he is selling is the PERFECT brand, and coming up with excuses to your every 'but'. Be aware!

At this point I must interject and exclaim that today is absolutely freezing. Did I mention it was freezing cold? BRRRR...

2. Whether we allow these things to take root in our hearts or not, depends wholly on us. The phrase 'do not be' implies that at the end of the day, we DO have a choice. To believe or not to believe. To doubt or not to doubt. We can only be lied to and misled if we let ourselves be. Guard our hearts well, and do not let stray thoughts take over the throne of God. Sometimes we might not even notice that they have made a home in us, until someone points it out - such is our ignorance when it comes to our own shortfallings - we can see a speck in our peers' eyes but not a log in ours.

Learn to master our thoughts and guard our hearts - and fix them firmly on our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer : Dear Lord, we humbly come before you today and confess, that we have not been watchful. That we have allowed wrong truths and falsehoods to settle in and take root in our hearts. We pray that You forgive us, dear Father. Teach us to shut our hearts and minds away from all these things, that empty words will have no hold over our lives, and the truth that You have revealed to us. And even as we walk in Your ways, we ask that Your hand be continually upon us, to guide us, and to lead us. Thank You dear Lord. In Jesus' name we ask and pray, AMEN!

Day #21

Halfway there!!!

And it seems I have skipped a chapter for some reason. Hmm. Oh well, chapter 6 today, chapter 5 tomorrow.

"...not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." Eph 6:6

Being planted by God, whilst doing all the tasks we are expected to do, we should always bear in mind that we are serving our Lord, and not men, for no man can serve two masters. Although yes we ARE serving man in a way, but it is ultimately God whom we are serving, and it is His will that we are doing, and it is God whom we have to focus on, even though we might, in actual fact, be working for someone else. Does that make sense?

"Knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free." Eph 6:8

A fairly important verse. Reminds me of 'free from the yoke of bondage.'

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Gal 5:1

Yes we were once sinners, but Christ has already redeemed us and broken the yoke of bondage by dying on the cross for us! Through God's grace we are no longer held captive in the land of bondage. Thus, we should not live as though we still were!

Hmm... Guess I'm getting a little sidetracked. Perhaps what Eph 6:8 was saying is that we are all held equal in God's sight, on the day of judgement. True, there will not be any 'I am better than you' in heaven. God rewards us according to the riches of His glory and the abundance of His grace, and not by whatever what we have done, we can do, or what we think we can do.

Therefore we should keep our minds firmly fixed on Christ, not on men, and most definitely not on ourselves.

Prayer : Father, yet another week has gone by, and I am still feeling lost at times. We pray You teach us to keep our eyes on You, even as we struggle and make our way through life, regardless of our circumstances and situations. Keep everyone back home safe too, bless them with Your peace and joy, especially grandma, who is having a rather difficult time right now with her stomach, and her memory - You know her situation Father, and we believe You know what is best for her. Watch over each and everyone of us. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen. 

Day #20

"...beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." Eph 4:1

There is a very important concept underlined and bolded in this verse. God is speaking to us all the time, constantly calling out to us His children (it could be in the still soft voice, a vivid dream or vision, maybe even through that person who sits next to you on the tram everyday). The point is,

ARE WE RESPONDING?

Much more important than merely training our eyes to see and our ears to hear, is conditioning our body to receive and respond in the right attitude. What good is listening and seeing when we do nothing about it?

As mentioned previously, any relationship must involve two-way communication!

God to us through the Holy Spirit, and us back to God through prayer.

God can do all that He can by nudging us every now and then, but ultimately up to us, (for He gave us free will) to choose, whether to respond or not to. It may seem really elementary, but I think learning the right manner to respond in is crucial and fundamental to our spiritual growth and in our personal walk with God.

And in order to slowly but surely work our way towards the potential that God has prepared for us by planting us in this land, why not search ourselves today, and pinpoint the areas in our lives that God has been sowing seeds in, and respond to those them, watering and nurturing them, until they bloom and mature.

Prayer : Dear Lord, we seek Your forgiveness for often neglecting Your call in our lives. We repent for ignoring Your voice, for choosing not to respond or to respond in the wrong way, or even to avoid choosing altogether. We humbly pray and ask that You set us aflame for You once again Lord, that our passion for You and Your ways. We pray, too for Your discernment, that we may answer Your calls with a fire for You, in the right frame of mind, spirit, soul, and body. All this we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Day #19

Day started bright and sunny, but quickly developed into a downpour as day turned to night.

Finding it a little harder to link up Ephesians with the current question framework, trying hard to keep ears open while reading.

"..to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named..." Eph 3:14-15

We are all one family in Christ. And if that is the case, our family is actually much much bigger than what we would originally define it to be. So how should that affect our conceptualization of the word 'Land' ? Having previously agreed that our Earthly families are very much an integral part of what land should mean to us, what more out spiritual family?

And Chapter 3 speaks about the mystery... the mystery of God?

And once again in this verse,

"...who am less than the least of all the saints..." Eph 3:8

Paul describes himself, claiming to be be not even up to the least of all the saints, yet even so, through God's grace he was able to do great and mighty works.

Are we questioning our capabilities in the land in which we were planted? Consider this : our Father placed us here - surely He knows the best place for us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, and has a purpose and a future all set for us. Even if we do not trust ourselves to do it, certainly we can trust God enough to rely on His judgement, right?

Seek God for His guidance, and He will certainly open your eyes if that is what you really hope for. 

Prayer : We thank You Lord for the land in which You have placed us in. Give us the confidence and trust in You to believe, to cultivate it and be like a tree planted by the Your streams of rejoicing, to be caretakers over the land, all for the glory of Your name. Amen!

Day #18

And the big question this week : What is the land that God has given us?

"And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near." Eph 2:17

God sent Jesus His very own Son for our salvation with a mission, with a promise for the Land. And so have we. Jesus was very clear on his mission - He preached near and far, to whomever would gather around Him to listen, and the multitude followed him wherever He went. But how about us? Are we assured and clear about our duty in the land we have been planted in? If not, what then should we do about it?

Before we can start sowing seeds on the land, first we have to identify it. It might be our homes, our schools, university, our workplace, even places of leisure. These are all potential candidates of the physical form of the word 'Land'.

The definition of Land, however, I'm sure, is not merely limited to places, but also people - groups of people - family members, colleagues, fellow students, friends and relatives, perhaps strangers on the street! Each of us will have different callings based on our faith to sow different seeds, but all for the glory of God.

Are we listening out for God's voice today?

And are we keeping an eye out for indicators about the Land we have been planted in? Are we alert enough to sense the prompts of the Spirit?

Prayer : Dear Lord, we ask you this day that You instill in us a spirit of patience to wait upon You and seek Your face, even as we discover our purpose for planting in the Land we are in. May we be Your empty vessels for You to use. Work in us and work through us, sweet Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we ask and pray, Amen.

Day #17

Ready for Ephesians, round three today. No set question to frame the readings around yet, just trying to listen to what jumps out.

"Having believed, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise..." Eph 1:13

The word sealed caught my eye. Words that come to mind are : bond, locked, key, sacred, royal, power, to name a few.

In ancient China, the seal of the emperor was a very powerful object - it represented his God-given authority and sovereignty over the land and the nation - having the seal was just as good as being the Emperor himself.

And in the same way, the Holy Spirit is our very own 'Jesus seal'! It is God's most valuable gift to us, one that the world cannot give us.

But I guess this brings up the question - who is the Holy Spirit?

Looking up a few verses (at this point I have to admit I did not really know much about the Holy Spirit - God's spirit living inside of us? was about all I could recall from memory)

"The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:17

Here Jesus is talking about sending a helper to lend us a hand. Someone whom the world does not see, but whom is very real to all of us. He is God's seal of promise on us, and He IS God's promise to us, that we may never be alone and away from Him.

"The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us..." Romans 8:26

What an encouraging phrase!

Perhaps this is why we always complain that our prayers aren't answered. Are we praying for the right thing? Often we are not sure what or how to pray, but the Spirit does. Do we talk enough to the Spirit? Or are we just taking it for granted that since the Spirit dwells in us, He should know our heart's desires, right?

Communication is a TWO-WAY street!

Talk to the spirit often - for He is your companion and guide, your counselor and friend, your shoulder to cry on, your helping hand in times of need, your pat on the back for a job well done and a boost back to your feet when you stumble and fall.

In all things, surrender them to God, and confide in the Holy Spirit. The more He is real to us, the more He can and will work through us for the glory of our Father. Without Him, what are we but a hollow shell?

Prayer : Dear Lord, we want to know Your Spirit deeper, in a whole new way. We pray You open our eyes and ears to look for and listen to His voice. Teach us, Holy Spirit, to put our trust in You, and create in us a clean heart, that we may not grieve You. We acknowledge Your seal of authority over us, Lord, and we choose to obey and live in line with Your will. Protect us and keep us alert and focused throughout the rest of our 40 day journey. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Day #16

Reading Material : Hebrews 3, 4

The two chapters talk about entering into God's rest.

While we were reading this during the morning gathering at Chris' place, I had 2 images flash inside my head.

Waterfall

Body of water

 Which of the two would you consider to 'look like' rest?

At first glance, maybe the body of water?

Now although it might seem contradictory to claim that the waterfall is actually the better symbolization of what God's rest is all about, bear in mind that 'rest' and 'not moving / staying still' can be significantly different, and consider the following:

a. A person in debt sitting still in his chair, whose mind is splattered with doubt, uncertainty, and anxiety - is this what you would call rest?
b. A jogger who enjoys morning runs, feels completely at peace with his body during a slow morning jog. What about this? Is this what you would call rest?

A similar framework of thought is also necessary to analyze the term 'entering into the rest of God'.

And I thought Chris made a very insightful observation. He said that rest is actually implying that you are NOT staying put, but rather, that you are PROGRESSING.

The water cascading down the waterfall is always in motion, active and progressing, yet always at peace with itself; a constant, steady flow. It is clear (clarity of thought), refreshing (renewing of spirit), and represents the bubbly force of life.

On the other hand you have a body of water. It's not going anywhere, just a stagnant pool, motionless, passive, and immobile. It is usually murky (confusion and jumbling of thoughts), stale (the old, the unchanged), and is usually teeming with broods of insects and bacteria - a spawning ground for diseases, and the representative of death.

Now which do you think sounds more like rest to you?

Too often we fall into the vicious cycle of living just to get by; we just want to get through the day, and then the next, and then the one after that - our actions have no purpose other than that. We get caught up in our fixed routines so much that it is all we think about - a stale, unchanged, immobile plan.

And I feel that entering the rest of God indicates to us that there should be a sense of renewal from day to day, a brand new start, the same way our bodies recharge when we rest. How much more should our spiritual life be that way! We will often encounter situations where our spiritual lives seem to be bogged down; we do not seem to be headed anywhere. That should be a sign that we are not resting in God as we should do - surrender it all to Him and rely on Him, and watch Him dig out a channel to create a waterfall out of our stagnant lake!

Prayer : Dear Father, we thank you for today. That today begins the first day, of the rest of our lives - a fresh new start. We pray You breathe a sense of freshness into our lives today Lord, that we may look forward to spending one more day in Your presence Father. Amen.

Day #15

Just been busy busy busy.

Anyways finishing up the second round read through of Ephesians today, Chapter 6 here we go!

"..with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." Eph 6:7

Sometimes I feel we need a wake up call.

Our lives are a massive routine, day in, day out. Between juggling our responsibilities (school, work, family etc), handling the limited time given to us each day, and managing everything else (stress, anxiety, worries, struggles) - we barely have time to think! It's just reacting to one thing after another, almost mindless in the way we go about our schedule.

Some may argue that having no fixed schedule helps. It just means you spend way more time thinking about what to do next or spend your time procrastinating, doesn't it? We are creatures of habit and emotion, by nature - we tend to do what we have always done all the while, or do things which we feel like doing. Ends up pretty much the same way. We do too little, and start worrying about what we could do more, and the cycle repeats itself.

Stress only births more stress.

At the end of the day, one really can't help but wonder. Who are we serving? God? Or man?

No man can serve two masters. Period. It's either one or the other. Forget self-justification (I'm serving God THROUGH man); forget secondary goals (I'm serving man SO THAT I CAN serve God); forget ambiguity (I think I cam serving God, yes that must be it); forget denial (How can I be serving man when I know I should be serving God?) -

SEARCH YOUR HEART.

Taken a good look at our spiritual selfs in the mirror lately? Afraid to see the truth? I know I am.

Prayer : Dear Lord, our hearts cry out to you this day. Come and heal us, come and save us once again. Our ignorance and foolishness have once again led us away from You. Teach us Father, to learn Your ways, and to live our lives purposefully. And let us not be discouraged by our failures and inabilities, but may we be empowered by Your mighty promises and Your word! All this we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen

Day #14

"Walk as children of the light... finding out what is acceptable to the Lord, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness..." Eph 5:8-11

Children of light gets me thinking. Hmmm.

To my knowledge, light :

a) Spreads itself out uniformly
b) Travels in a straight line
c) is clearly seen from afar (in fact, it is the reason we can even see to begin with)

So, in the same way, we, as children of the light, should we not bear the same characteristics as light? Spreading out regardless of background, experience and roots to bring the good news to everyone around us, bringing light to our situations and circumstances; Holding fast to what we believe in and what we are hopeful for, setting a straight path to our goals; and being in the Kingdom of God shouldn't be something we hoard in our hearts - a secret ritual practiced behind closed doors - but it should be everything we are, what we stand for, from what we think to what we say or do, the light of God should be clearly present.

"...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Eph 5:19

What a beautiful expression of what being in the Kingdom of God should be like.

A place filled with worship - whether in the church together with the congregation on a Sunday, singing while in the shower, or humming to your song on your iPod, worship is like incense rising to the heavens - it pleases out Father, thus it pleases us too.

When is the last time you allowed yourself to sing freely and joyfully to the Lord? After all, God needs some enjoyment, too!

Prayer : Dear heavenly Father, I consecrate today, and every other day, for the rest of my life, as a sacrifice of praise to you Lord. We want to continue serving You and giving worship to Your name, singing praises and songs of joy and celebration, for indeed You are our Redeemer, who has set us free, free from bondage and free from a life of slavery. May Your be forever glorified and exalted in our hearts. Amen.

Day #13

We hate change.

As human beings, as people - we generally dislike shifting, inconsistent developments happening around us or to us. We shy away from transformation and instead choose to stick to our comfortable hammocks, clinging dearly to the routines and schedules we have memorized like multiplication tables (no offense to those who still can't get it right) and refuse to let go.

And sometimes it takes more than just a knock on the door of our hearts to soften our resolve.

"...endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace..."


"ONE body, 
ONE spirit... 
ONE Lord, 
ONE faith, 
ONE baptism, 
ONE God and Father, 
who is above all, and through all, and in you all."


Eph 4:3-6

How important it is that the spirit of unity and peace dwell amongst us! Starting from the smallest atom community - the home, where personal negligence, communication / generation barriers, and difficulties in engaging one another (either due to time constraints or otherwise) has often led to a breakdown in unity; strife sneaks in unannounced. Could it be due to the fact that we are prone to falling back on our  past mistakes and old ways, sometimes despite knowing we have been wrong before (but people don't like change! We think this time we will get it right, get it done) What is our plan when we encounter conflict?

And then there is relationships between fellow brothers and sisters. At times we judge too hastily, a quick word of jealousy, of wrath, of distaste, and everything seems to fall apart. How fragile is the system we live in? And all these little things slowly chip away and wear down at God's peace guarding our hearts - how then can we focus on God, when everything else around us is a mess?

Perhaps we should really search our hearts. Listen and see our own faults, before looking at others'. When was the last time you and I sat down with ourselves, had a quiet moment with ourselves, examined ourselves? Nowhere as easy as it sounds. For everytime we spot a crack in our so-called 'righteousness', we dismiss it immediately as an anomaly. (It shouldn't be here, so I will treat it like it isn't here) and sugar coat it on the way to self-justification and deceit. To what end?

Too much sugar is bad for health. Time to cut down consumption?

Prayer : Dear Lord, I pray for a fresh wind of change, let it blow through us and take away with it all our old habits, our old ways, our old concepts, and breathe new life into us once again Father. Help us remove all our layers of self-indulgence and vanity, and turn our hearts towards longing after You once more. Amen.

Day #12

Okay, a little bit of bad news, I have officially sprained my left shoulder ( I think) and it's been giving me a whole 'nother lot of problems - can't really move my upper body much without triggering a spasm of hurt. Even moving my right arm hurts.

Support came in the form of a verse from my mum,

"...God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able... that you may be able to bear it." 1 Cor 10:13

At that time still not quite sure to do with this verse but feeling slightly calmed at the thought that hey at least, it won't get worse - unless this isn't the limit of what I can take, which is a scary thought, but anyway.

Gave not much thought to it after a short prayer, and this morning as I headed to the market for my usual buys, I encountered a rather unusual situation.While buying beef, I requested 1 kg of the usual round steak I get for stir frys and such, expecting it to be slightly less or more than that, given the original chunk was much bigger than 1 kg. To my (and the person who cut it as well, I suspect) amazement, the weight on the scales showed exactly 1.000 kg when the beef was placed on it.

I went, 'whoa.' and gave her a quick smile. She seemed rather estatic as well as she handed me my purchase. On the way back I was thinking, could this be? A sign from God? I could feel it was as though God was telling me, 'Yes, this is what you have asked for, this is what I will give you. No more, no less.'

Also thought it might mean that whatever the limit of temptation I could take, God would stop right on the dot, and would go no further.

Shoulder turned from bad to worse as I grinded through the day, bearing the pain through 3 consecutive hours of class. It was not excruciating, just slightly annoying and disturbing, I guess.

And what do you know, today's reading has something to do with trials! Juicy.

"Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." Eph 3:13

Perhaps, I realize now, that Paul and I may not be referring to the same kind of trials, but this is what I got : What are trials but God's way of testing our faith? The same way a good piece of pottery endures the reshaping and burning in the furnace, such is the way our lives are molded by our Father the Potter.

And such is the Kingdom of God! Obstacles should not be seen as stumbling blocks, but as stepping stones. Circumstances are only what we make of them. Of course, this is easy to say as an outsider; when we are immersed in the severity of the problem our vision gets terribly narrow-minded and our judgement will be hugely affected as well. Pray for discernment and wisdom.

And I am reminded of a short story.

Jesus and I were walking on the beach, enjoying the surf. For some reason I suddenly turned back and noticed the pattern our feet were making in the sand. I noted one part where there was only one set of footprints. I then turned to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, during those times where I was as a lost sheep, misguided and in need of direction, when I was going through a rough patch in my life, where were you? Look, only one set of footprints are present. Why did you forsake me then?' Jesus turned to me and replied kindly, 'My child, I was with you the whole time. When you were in trouble, it was then that I carried you upon my shoulders.'

How easily, when things go wrong, or when tribulations come our way, do we give in and complain that God has forgotten about us and that He no longer cares about us? Often without even thinking we rationalize and say, IF ONLY God had given me this or done this back then, I COULD HAVE done this and this and this and would not have ended up like that and that. And the opposite happens during times of prosperity. "Oh, luckily I could do this in time, all by myself." LUCK has the least to do with any success we are so abundantly blessed with.

Aren't we forgetting something here?

We are quick to claim success as OUR OWN, but come up with excuses blaming God (of all people) when things go wrong. And me mumble and we moan and we gnash our teeth and tear our hair - anything but turn to God. At least, I have been terribly guilty of that. Looking back now, I wonder where I would be, after all these years, were it not for His grace and mercy?

Prayer : Dear Lord, forgive me for my constant complains and ungratefulness. I am a sinner, undeserving and filthy. Yet You still love us the same. How great is Your love for us Your children! As we continue to face trials and tribulations, remind us that You are always there for us, that You will never forsake us, that we can rely on You. Teach us to lean wholly on You Father, all this I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Day #11

Getting right into it.

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Eph 2:1
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Eph 2:13

Both these verses point out that we were once 'dead' and 'far off' - we are all sinners fallen short,

BUT

'..you He made alive' and '..have been brought near..' signifies that we should treat our past as what it is - our past. Through the cross we have been redeemed and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

Knowing this, how then, should we live our lives?

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10

This verse implies heavily on predestined purposes, and the Kingdom of God is exactly that. Each one of us have a unique one, yet all the same in one family. His workmanship - a piece of art (sculpture, painting, carving, etc) always reflects the workmanship of its creator, so in the same way we must also strive to bring out in ourselves what our Heavenly Father stands for - love, compassion stands out for me.

".. you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Eph 2:19

In the kingdom, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter who we are in life, where we are on our spiritual and physical journey. Thus we should reflect, are we treating everyone else as such? How should we treat our neighbours - the people around us, especially those in need - ? For if God makes no exceptions, how can we, as His children, do otherwise?

Prayer : Dear God, we acknowledge and rejoice for the fact that we have the privilege of being part of Your wonderful family. Teach us to love, Father, just like You have loved us, and help us forgive our enemies, just as You forgive our sins. All this we commit to You in Jesus' name. Amen

Day #10

Second round through, here we go!

Had a very interesting time last week, seeing parts of the Scripture stand out and framed in different contexts, eager to see what this week has in store, especially as we embark on another framework to read Ephesians in. Will different things jump out at me this time? Will they be obvious to spot? Guess I'll just have to find out.

Revisiting the familiar first chapter, I am reminded of the first time I read it - a rather tedious and unrewarding process. This time seems a little more comfortable to get started.

"...who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,..." Eph 1:3

Here it says that God our Father has given us blessings, abundantly, above and beyond what we could ever hope for and hope to contain. And if we truly acknowledge His kingdom come, shouldn't we be less anxiois and apprehensive about our troubles in the world? Especially things we know we have no control over yet choose to fret unnecessarily over it; perhaps it is time to let go and surrender them all to God.

"...by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." Eph 1:6

I know I often question my own adequacy in many things I'm doing. Am I fit for the job? Can I really do this? But the fact is, God has already accepted us as His children, as part of His family and His Kingdom - He alone knows best our capabilities and weaknesses, if He says we can, who are we to argue otherwise?

"...that we who first trusted Christ should be to the praise of His glory." Eph 1:12

Being called to follow our Master Jesus, there must be something distinguishing the us now, and the us we used to be (our old man). Some kind of change which has happened, which has the potential to maybe convict others and in turn induce change IN them. At the very least, we must always guard our hearts and minds against the ways of the flesh, the ways of the world - that's the least we can do, right?

Is that agreeing with what we are doing at the moment?

All those moments of weakness, of temptation, of indifference...

Are we doing enough?

Prayer : Dear Lord, we seek Your face now more than ever. We pray You open our eyes and ears, help us realize that we are here for a reason; we are planted wherever we are right now, in Your kingdom, for a very specific purpose. Thank you for pouring our your blessings abundantly upon us, even though we often are undeserving of it. Praise be Your name. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 

Day #9

So! Relaxing Saturday Morning. Hah!

Had a pleasant meeting with Nick and the boys at Chris Law's place. Had quite a feast going, smoked salmon and freshly brewed coffee and spinach leaves and assorted nuts and some wraps - oooh toasted raisin bread too - and we gathered around the dinner table munching away.

We took turns sharing how our past week has been (both physically from the fast and spiritually from the daily devotions) and it was heartening to hear from other people, especially how they 'suffered' as well - I guess there is joy in sharing a common suffering, after all - and also a great encouragement to hear testimonies about how God was moving in us, slowly and slightly but surely.

I daresay the food was heartening as well (the glass of water I had was proof enough hahaha), everyone else had fun digging in, and feeling up random nuts while making up spontaneous names for them whilst blindfolded (okay only one person did that, to be fair).

On a more 'serious' note, our discussion ended with what should we focus on for our second readthrough the book of Ephesians. Nick decided, since we had already read Ephesians in the context of 'what does it mean to us to be heirs to the kindgom', perhaps we should go on and focus on 

What does the kingdom of God look like?

And at this point, Isaac brought up a very interesting comparison between the Kingdom of God and, of all things, the Mafia (secret society with highly ranked members in important parts of society, read : Godfather type scenario etc)

1a. The mafia lives amongst normal people leading normal lives, right under their noses, if you like. Some of them may stand out, some don't. The mailman might be an important officer in the Mafia, so might your professor at uni or that police inspector. The point is, they are not part of this 'other seperate realm' which we do not have contact with. 

1b. And the same goes for the Kingdom of God. We are not part of this other 'supernatural realm', but the same reality as every other human being. We are part of society, whether they recognize us for who we are or not. 

2a. The way someone is 'drafted', so to speak, into the mafia is they get a letter from a highly ranked official of the Mafia telling them to set down everything they have at present, and become one of the gang. 

2b. In the same way, Jesus calls each and every one of us individually to follow him, and become part of the family of God.

3a. When one is part of the mafia, there is a certain sense of calm and confidence, that whatever problems you encounter (eg traffic summons), there will be someone greater than us who will be able to help us solve that problem (eg traffic police constable who will be attending a mafia dinner meeting tomorrow). There is less apprehension and anxiety associated with being part of the Mafia.

3b. Again, similarly. We as children of God, have our Father's promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that all our cries are heard by him. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider of all our needs, according to the riches of His glory. If God is for us, who can be against us? The same feeling of calm and less apprehension is also present amongst the sons of God, for we know that 'He who is in me, is greater than he who is in the world.'

4a. The Mafia have their agents cleverly placed all throughout society, in roles big or small, for very direct and simple reasons - keep their enemies at bay, expand their territorial influence. 

4b. Well the Kingdom of God has that as well! We have brothers and sisters in Christ placed all over the world, in every location imaginable - and that is a blessing! In that we are always aware, there are people who have the similarly ordained destinies, and who are going through this journey together with us. And that alone, is worth being thankful for, don't you think?

Prayer : Dear Lord, I give you thanks and praise for placing me in such a wonderful environment to bond and to grow, together with Nick and the rest of the boys. Indeed I have enjoyed and cherished these times of fellowship together just as a bunch of boys working out what life and Your calling means for everyone of us. They have been such an encouragement to me, as I hope I have been to them. May You hand of guidance and protection be upon all of us, as we begin a new week. Amen. 

Day #8

Today was another day of rest; will be continuing the second round of Ephesians on Sunday.

Was rather hungry... good thing had some assam fish leftovers to kick start the break of fast. Still tasted every bit as good as it was yesterday.

Will be meeting up with Nick and the boys Saturday morning, at Chris Law's place for some sharing and 'makan'. More of the former, none of the latter for me as it will be around 10-ish am.

Prayer : Dear Lord, even as we take this time off to have a short breather and instead spend a little more time to gaze upon You, continue to be with us on our 40 day journey. In Jesus' name we give thanks, Amen.

PS. shortest post so far!