New Location!

Heyz! This blog has moved to a new location:

Hosanna Spirit!

Same blog, same author, different place. =P

Hope that you will visit me!
Thanks!

God bless you!

Just Me Is Not Enough

Hi! It's been about 6 days since I blogged about my devotions. Today's post is about perfection...

...or rather, imperfection.

I would like to start by leaving this theory of mine in your mind: "I am not nothing. I am not everything. I am just something."

Well, I am now moving on to my next book. It's by John Otberg, titled, "Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them". The first part of the book gives me one impression overall: everyone needs someone (and of course, God). This is called a "community".

I believe that there is such thing as perfection. I mean, if there is none, why would there be such a thing as perfection in the first place? (Everything has to exist for a purpose!) If it is true that imperfect people need other imperfect people, perfection still cannot be achieved. We need a perfect being to make us perfect! It's like water. If a bottle is filled with muddy water, pouring in muddy water into a bottle will change nothing! But if pure water is filled into the bottle, at least the content of the bottle will be purer.

The Perfection is God. And if we are washed by God's Spirit, we will not be perfect, but will be closer to perfection.

I just watched "Touched By An Angel" (just a portion of it). And it's about a pastor who has lost faith in his belief just because he had accidentally crashed into (or by other ways) his son and killed him. The angel came in time to revive his faith. She said that people do not know God's plan wholly. God has taken the pastor's son, because there should be a purpose behind it that people without faith will not see.

This is very true. Perfection exists in God's plan. We are part of God's plan. We are part of the Perfection. But we are not the Perfection! Because I am just who I am. Because you are who you are. I am not God. Neither are you.

In some cases, you might need others to help you. For example, the pastor was helped by the angel. But in our everyday lives, it is not common to see an angel, is it? So, we need one another to help us open our eyes to realize that every part of our lives - both good and bad - are part of God's plan.

The idea of imperfection thus came into the fact of community. The first "not good" thing God has created in the world is one person. One person is not good. But as soon as Eve was made from Adam, God saw it was good. Why? Because community is good. Adam. Eve.

And God.

"I am not nothing. I am not everything. I am just something."
"But in God, I am something - something part of God's Perfect Plan."

Praise God for my imperfection! It is because of my imperfection that I can be part of the Creator's Perfect Plan!

"Here I am / At Your feet / In my brokenness, complete"
- lyrics of "Unashamed" by Starfield

Which Well?

Last week, I was teaching my cell group regarding thanksgiving. At the end of it, I made a comment that I've been devoting for some time ago, and I thought I should share it with you guys.

I am still reading Bill Hybel's "Just Walk Across The Room". And since my Bible reading is very slowly progressing, I still haven't get to the New Testament yet. But in this book, I read the part when Jesus was at a well (John 4). A Samaritan woman wanted to draw water out of a well, when Jesus asked her whether He could have some of the water. The Samaritan, being offended by talking with a Jew, was of course denying what Jesus asked for.

However, there's a turn of event. The conversation led to the Samaritan asking Jesus was water - the living water. And not only did she not take water out of the well, she left her water jug at the well and called everyone to meet Jesus (John 4:28).

You see, our soul is like a bottle. You can fill things with anything you want. Many people in the world are committed to dirty thoughts, porn, drugs, smoking, money, and anything which will satisfy them. Or so they thought...

Yes - these things can satisfy you. But do they truly satisfy you forever? Or will you crave more of it?

For example, money. You have many of those. But even the richest man in the world still craves for them. There is just something in materials that our body and soul just couldn't fill. Another literal example is alcohol. It'll just evaporate as you fill your bottle with it. Drink it, and one second later, you'll be as empty as you are in the previous second.

If you are filling your bottle with these materials, then what you are filling yourselves with is water from the "Earth Well". Like the Samaritan before she repented, you are continuously drawing water out of this well, filling yourself with something that will not satisfy your soul eternally. You always feel thirsty and keep wanting more of the "water".

But Jesus is offering a new water - the living water. This can only be taken out of a spiritual well - the "Jesus' Well". God has opened this well through Jesus, that whoever who is thirsty and drank out of this well will be quenched forever! Does it sound like something you want?

If so, you are like the Samaritan. The next thing you need to do is to ask where you can get this "living water" - where do you find this "Jesus' Well". It's easy to find the Well, and there are many locations too. Just to name some of them: Jesus' Well of Wisdom, Jesus' Well of Spirit, Jesus' Well of Strength, Jesus' Well of Worship, Jesus' Well of Strength, and there are so much more.

But of course, the well has its own source. The "Earth Well" comes from the ground. But the "Jesus' Well" comes from the Heaven - specifically the throne of our King. It is from the Father, Spirit and the Son that we can get this "Water". And all you have to do to obtain it is to pray and ask our God to pour it down on us.

However, be sure what you want. The Samaritan dropped her water jar right at the well. She gave up the "Earth water" completely. She realized that all she needs now is the living water - the Water from the Well of Jesus.

If you have a mixture of both, everywhere you go, you'll bring this mixture. And when you speak to people, you'll speak with a mixture of the Word of the Spirit with the word of the world. That's not really a repentance. That's a compromise.

I take an example from Samuel's blog. You are sick. And you decided to be faithful and prayed to God. But as soon as you said, "Amen," you looked for Panadol. You began justifying your "faithfulness" saying, "This is just a supplementary, just in case God didn't heal me," or "God put Panadol in this world... ...and it was good."

Then, I have one question: really, faithful? REALLY?

If God has poured down His healing power into your bottle, and you added a panadol into your bottle, wouldn't His medication be ruined then? When you ask God for something, never have your own input too. A pure soul that lives for God is much better than a compromising mixture of both waters.

Take an example of Jesus and His disciples in this chapter. His disciples was hungry, but Jesus responded them by saying that He has just eaten, when salvation was proclaimed! Jesus doesn't need "Earth food". Proclamation of salvation is enough to satisfy His cravings for "food", and that's all He needs/wants.

Also, trust me, when you ask God for this living water, God doesn't send a drop of Water, or a drizzle down on you. He'll send a rain down to fill your "bottle". The Water will overflow you.

"Rain down on me, Rain down on me. Here in Your presence I am free. Come pour down like rain. Come and touch me again. Lord, let Your presence fall on me."
- Lyrics of "Rain Down" by Planetshakers

I love this song because it calls God to pour Himself on you. What could be better than that? The bottle is filled with God's Holy Spirit Himself! And yes - He'll rain on you. He'll overflow! There'll be so much that you can't even contain it! How precious is the feeling? How great is His will in your life? That's when your soul will completely be satisfied.

He is only Water you'll even need. Come and take a sip if you don't believe! Just remember that He is inviting everyone to drink that water - the sweetest water that will quench your thirst forever!

celebrating with a child-like faith

yesterday, i was teaching my cell group for the first time. while i was preparing the materials for it, i found the true meaning of child-like faith.

i came across the book, "the holy wild" by mark buchanan. and i love that book! especially the chapter, "a testimony of a leaf". it's the really good part, talking about how thanklessness has been the root of evil in the world. he recalled a time when he was evangelizing in kenya, africa. he didn't want to attend a service because the music produced by the worn-down, old, deformed instruments were squawky. but during the service (which he reluctantly went to), there was a lady who testified powerfully, rejoicingly, faithfully, about one new shoe she had been praying for three months.

yeah. a shoe
not one pair of shoes.
just one shoe.

that's child-like faith.

remember when you were kids? if you are given something to play with in your hands, you would hold it with such fascination that you wouldn't want to let it go? or when you receive a sweet, and your face will brighten up with a radiance that will never go away?

but as we grow old, when we receive one sweet, we demand for the whole package. if we receive a bike, we demand for a car. if we receive a cake, we demand a buffet. almost everything is not appreciated now. Jesus spoke in John 4 to His disciples about the food that He eats. the disciples were complaining that they were hungry, and wanted something to eat. but Jesus took the chance to say that He is not hungry, because saving someone's soul is enough to keep Him satisfied.

when we want something badly, we always look through our eyes, scheming through your "a-z list of compromises and reasons". we find reasons for getting a better car, a better watch, a better brand of clothing line. we don't appreciate what's in front of us anymore. we look beyond that with our eyes of reasonings so that we can get more than we have. our souls keep telling us that we need them to socialize, to do well in this world, to be the "better person".

here's the fact: materials do not make you a better person. it's one of the cause for jealousy, and it kills and buries that child-like faith you have in your heart.

look at the africans for example. they don't have much. but when they get something, they rejoice! why? because they know it's a blessing. like what irvin (or ko irvan, i can't remember) says yesterday in cell, what small things are given to us become a usual thing in our lives. blessings become another thing we can buy with our moneys.

but the africans, they don't have money. things are "bought" by prayer. things are given through prayers. and they literally see blessings falling in front of them from heaven. it is because their eyes are not blinded by reasonings or materials. in fact, they are shone by the light of grace from God.

i salute the africans and they deserve my prayers of blessings! i pray that you will be a nation where the Lord Jesus will dwell in forever! may your hearts please the God almighty forever and ever! =)

"worthy, worthy, of my child-like faith, of my honest praise, of my unashamed love, of my holy life, of my sacrifice, of my unashamed love."
- lyrics of "unashamed love" by travis cottrell

somethings...

i watched a video on youtube that disturbed me quite a lot. just 2 days ago, people are commenting on this video, debating whether Jesus is real or whether He is God or not.

i don't really know what the world has against christians now. but what does non-christians believe in the first place? what do you believe that makes you guys attack us? it seems that everyone else are attacking the christians for some reasons, and not the other religions. other religions have their fair share of evangelism, but why only us?

and what's with your debate on whether only christians will be sent to Heaven or not? i mean, we have our belief that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and that whoever comes to Him and accept Him will be saved and go back home to Heaven. but more importantly, we KNOW it is true. i don't want to comment on other beliefs, but just one thing: is your faith as "sure" as ours is?

the non-christians have been talking about whether they can get to heaven, and say we christians are wrong because not only christians can get to Heaven. if you are sure that not only christians are going to heaven, why the fear? we are fearless in what we believe, because we KNOW that what we believe in is true. but do you non-christians believe what you believe is true? are you sure that you are going to heaven? if you are, why the fear??

and another thing is that, personally, i see everyone equally. i treat everyone whom i know equally. i don't hate others. for example, i don't hate the muslims (my caretaker is a muslim and i like spending time with her). i don't hate the buddhists (my extended family are mostly buddhists, and i still respect them). i don't hate! and i know the Bible doesn't teach us to hate. the bible says that we should love our neighbors.

and i don't see others as inferior. never do that! in fact, i'm sharing a littleabout this on this friday's cell. the Bible teaches us that everything we have (including knowledge, faith and salvation) all are gift from God. God wanted to give us something we don't deserve because He has loved us so much, and because we know how much He loves us, we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. everything is a gift, and we have NO RIGHTS at all to boast! and therefore, we don't boast about our truth. we don't boast about salvation. and we are not thinking of boasting about them. why? because it's the wrong thing to do. feeling superior is biblically unrighteous. after all, we know that we are made from the very same soil, in which the Spirit of the very same God who created us dwells in. we (or at least i) don't feel superior to others, and, NO! we will never feel superior to others!

so, please, get the facts right before you counter what we believe.

"sometimes we have it sometimes we don’t, what matters most is not the physical, just look inside your soul cause, we got a lot in common"
- lyrics of "a lot in common" by group 1 crew

i'm on my way

i promised to write a devotion about the journey to Heaven.

ok. firstly, the Bible doesn't promise us a smooth road towards Heaven. this is definite. everyone's faith will be put to test before they are given the prize. the concept goes with the current world system today: degrees are obtained only by excruciatingly long studies in university, high positions are rewarded to those who work really hard, etc.

but Heaven - arh! the sheer beauty! what prize do we need to pay to get there? A LOT! sometimes everything!

(i am doing a research together with reverend johannes about this, and so i won't reveal much about this yet, because i don't have enough materials and i don't want to dishonor his privacy.)

this is my mental picture of a road to Heaven - a looooooong road trip on foot. everyone can participate. all it takes is a heart of desire. there is only one way towards Heaven, which is the road of Christ. but along this road, there are many attractions that distract you. for example, there is a theme park along the way, symbolising entertainment/fun 24-7. if you go walk into the park, you will take a break from the journey. some people take long enough to not complete the journey!

another attraction for example is a buffet - greed. there are many things that people greed over in this life - materials, money, comfort, food. but if you keep on indulging yourself on these things, there will be more stuff to carry with you on the run towards Heaven. that will be a burden. lay them down at the foot of the cross and you'll run light.

more things lie ahead. for example, a gorge which you need to jump over. this can symbolize many things. but one thing's for sure - perseverance or helplessness. if you persevere, you can make a way across the gorge - by building a bridge, or finding a rope, or even training before you jump the gorge! but if you think you are helpless, then it's commit suicide without a doubt. it's tempting to just die and end your burdens right away, but wouldn't there be more (and only) burdens in hell? think about it before taking that plunge.

there are cold nights that you wish you have a flame. tempting to try and make one. tough when the wind blows, eh? but why don't you pray that the Holy Spirit will burn a warm flame in you?

of course, there are many more examples, but i shouldn't bore you with more. if you want another picture of the road, think of it as empty at first. but as you walk, the devil keeps throwing things from you from the side of the road, telling you to stop. he throws you food. don't stop! only seek the Bread of Life. he throws you a wall. don't stop! run through it like how david ran to goliath! he throws you a mountain. don't stop! climb over it!

there are obstacles along the way, but everything can be overcame in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. and if we made it through all the roads, though the numbers of bruises, cuts, bleedings we have, once we step into Heaven, all will be healed. and Jesus will then say to you, "well done, my child. well done..."

"even though the journey's long, and i know the road is hard, but the One who has come before me, He will help me carry on."
- lyrics of "mountain of God" by third day

change Your world - darlene zschech

this song is so very touching!!! i love it so much. the lyrics is very meaningful. i have been told by someone that there is no need to protect the world anymore since Jesus Christ is coming soon anyways. but this song is the complete reason for needing to change this world and its people before the coming of Jesus.

let's say Jesus is about to knock on your house door right now. would you want Jesus to come into a filthy house? i wonder sometimes why the Bible says, "for me and my house, we would praise the Lord", and not, "for me and my family, we would praise the Lord". for one thing, i realized that households long ago still do have servants generally. and since the servants are not part of the family, it is said to be "house". but i think we can glorify Jesus by taking care of the house that He has blessed us with. (sorry, but maybe i'm wrong, i don't know.)

it's the same with the world. in this life, we have an international house: the world. we are supposed to protect it from evil while we are still alive, and change it for the better i have discussed something about this in the previous post: Jesus entrusted us with bigger things, only if we are faithful to the small things. if Jesus has entrusted us with a house, we should take care of it, and not mess it up. how could He trust us with a share of Heaven if we cannot even take care of our own house now?

change the world is calling to Jesus to come and help us in changing this world. i saw the music video of this single. it's very touching to see the people in that video. when i saw it, i immediately changed the "my prayers to you" section. read it and i hope that you will join me in my prayers.

watch the video on youtube!

what i learnt from this song is that it is up to us to change the world. ok, it's actually Jesus and us. but Jesus is always with us. and here's the breaking news: Jesus is ready. He is waiting for you to be ready. are you ready to change the world?

this ties in with something i found yesterday on the net.

(thanks to ninja billy for making this strip.)
http://www.ninjabilly.com

God has done His part. His Spirit is within you. it's just your choice to move. if you cannot do anything, praying still helps. as i like to say, "prayers can move mountains. (so don't stop praying if you have not moved at least one.)" pray that the world will change by any means for the better. even better, pray that God will open up a path so that you can help the world. for me, i'm doing the second one. i have a vision to help the condition in africa if i become a doctor. and i pray that it will come true one day.

thanks to darlene, really, for the song! =)

Change Your World
By: Darlene Zschech

Though I'm many miles away
How could I forget the day
I held you close
And my heart was changed forever

Though I'm many miles away
I'll forever hear You say
I am Your child
Please will You love me
Won't You stay my little one

I live to change Your world
I live to change Your world
Oh how You've changed my world
Know the kindness of God
Will make a way

There's not a day that passes by
When I don't hear your hungry cry
I won't forget you
Oh how I love you
Just be strong my little one

He rejoices over you with singing
He will quiet you with his love
I know you'll be dancing
When your heart is heavy
Heaven will make a way
Just hold on

I live to change Your world
I live to change Your world
Oh how You've changed my world
Oh how You've changed my world

And when the night is long
And hunger is your song
Breathe again and know
To hope is never wrong
Change Your world

Oceans of mercy calling
Heaven will rain again

----------

God bless ya! and may God bless the world too! =)

"i will bow before Your throne, for my life is not my own. have Your way in me."
- lyrics of "have Your way" by paradise (guy sebastian)

well done, My child

i was just reminded about this a few seconds ago.

last week, my cell group was discussing about what life is about. we had 3 representations for life: test, trust, temporary assignment (3t's). and with this we discussed how we need to focus on the goal and not on temporary things on earth. as 2 Corinthians 4:18 has said, we need to focus on the eternal prize of Heaven, and not be caught up on the things in-between.

(i want to discuss another point about how i see life as a race too, but i think i'd leave that for tomorrow.)

and ko irvan asked each one of us how this can change our lives. i was really really tired on that day and so, i blurred out something without really thinking it through. however, the comments received was more than i expected. and i guess this is something quite big that i should address.

i suggested that we should not be proud of the praises we get from other people.

instead, i think we should keep our focus on God and just walk ahead to Heaven. what others say about you is less important that what God has said, is saying and will be saying to you. if you just focus on what God says, listen at appropriate time, check your heart, that's enough. (well, i'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to others... but can you always trust the flesh?)

relating to reaching Heaven, i read a book that asked a very interesting question at one point of time: what do you think will be the first thing that God will say to you when you reach Heaven?

of course, not knowing much at that time, i was confused when i wanted to answer this question. i didn't even know what i will say or do! will i hug Him? will i sing praises? will i give thanks? will i fall down to my knees and cry? i don't even know how i'm going to react?! how would i know how He would react to me?!

but then, i read on to realize that God has already got an answer for those faithful ones.

'Well done, you good and faithful servant!' said his master. 'You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!'
[ Quote from Jesus in Matthew 25: 21, 23 ]

'Well done,' he said; 'you are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities.'
[ Quote from Jesus in Luke 19: 17 ]

but do you think He'll say that to you? have you been faithful? will He share His happiness with you? will He give you something bigger than what you already have? will He give you the golden ticket to come into His Heaven?

for me, i have been faithful in small matters. i have not been faithful in some bigger callings, but i'm trying to fit everything into my life first. i have the heart for prayer, though i have not found enough time to balance everything. but i have been faithful in spreading the Word of God through my blog. and i will grow one day when i pray every day and night.

i'm still growing. my thirst and hunger are not quenched yet. i'm not done. never done, until i reach Heaven.

but until then,
i know what God wants from us.
i know what God will say to us.
i know what God will give us.

so, keep our eyes on the prize. keep our hearts focused on what God will say to us. keep our hands and feet doing the will of God! keep your ears open that one day, God will say, "My child, you have been faithful to Me. come. I have opened up the gates of My House. come and rest. well done, My child... well done."

"just one moment here with You, means more than anything to me."
- lyrics of "secret place" by planetshakers

once upon a sin

i think it is human's destiny to sin once in a while on this earth. i don't know whether it is true or not, but this is what i think and i want to ask for comments regarding this.

well, i'm not saying that human have to sin. of course, Christianity aims for us to be more Christ-like - to be more holy and righteous in the eyes of God. but i don't think that people can achieve that without making mistakes. take a toddler for an analogy. when he is learning how to walk, he fall down quite a lot before he eventually takes the first long-distance walk.

as humans, we also fall down a lot, no doubt. as i watched scrubs, i heard what doctor cox said: once in a while, humans commit a sinful omission. (of course, he's talking about doctor's responsibilities.) but i can't help thinking whether that's true in our lives.

the last time in my cell group, the teacher told us that God has a purpose to put each of us on this earth. but when i thought about it, God has a purpose to put humans (collectively) on earth in the first place.

sins is good for us in some ways. (hold on to your thoughts first!! this is not what you are thinking!)

look, everything has a purpose right? however, it is our choice to whether we want to go according to the purpose or not. taking an example from a session in Bible study, reverend johannes commented that a phone is used for efficient communication between people. but what if a person (for example a toddler) throws it to the floor as a toy? wouldn't the purpose of the phone be denied? i guess this is the same as sin.

sin has a purpose too. for Christians, sin makes us seek God more. to a further extent, it gives us humility because we seek forgiveness (and of course, we are given forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, amen?). the problem with sin is that non-Christians don't seek God when they sin. some of them are even proud of what they have done.

also, sin makes us realize we are not perfect as humans, and we can never be. but it is by the grace of God that salvation comes to this earth through the blood of Jesus that washes away all our sins. see - it is because of our sins that we need Jesus to heal us.

let's establish another analogy here - a hospital. let's say a patient who is completely healthy comes. the patient wants the doctor to examine him. but, there's nothing the doctor can do, is there? why? because there is no need for a doctor - he's perfectly healthy. but if a person who has a cut comes in, the doctor now has a purpose to heal the imperfect person. and back to the first patient: if he is arrogant, he would not even have seen the need for the hospital!

without sin, i supposed we'll be more pompous and proud. and to a large extent, we would not have seen the need for Jesus to heal us because we think they can make it to Heaven without His help. (i actually have seen a video of a person saying why did Jesus die on the cross for us? and i think he criticized the whole concept as bogus and stupid.)

this gives sense to why sin is at first brought into humans. it is not because God is lonely (or at least i don't think so), but it is because He wants us to see the need for Him. let's get back to the phone. if the toddler has broken the phone, the phone (creation) now has the need for the company (Creation) to fix it.

well, i think no matter what happens in our lives, no matter how many falls we have, we still have one ultimate purpose - to live as righteously as possible. like the toddler, the ultimate purpose is to not fall so much, and finally learn to walk properly. as adults, we still trip and fall and hurt ourselves. but if we are careful enough, we might not have to suffer the injuries cause by the fall anymore for the rest of our lives. of course, if you do fall and injure yourself, i guess the hospital is just the place you need.

and spiritually, i think the idea is just the same...

in the grace of God,
andrew

more and more.... of what?

(this entry is entirely a grace from God. i didn't even feel like blogging at this point of time. but everything that i type just flow into one piece. completely unexplainable... Jesus is so amazing, ain't Him?)

the world really lacks something today. this is something i have seen all around me. i don't mention names, but many people i know of are deficient in this nutrient for their character development. these people characteristically suffers from hatred for things around them, irritability to small blessings, symptoms of complaining.

this nutrient is called, "appreciation".
(best taken with a dose of praise and thankfulness after every grace received)

i have heard one sermon about this before. (or was it a book?) correct me if i'm wrong: a person complains 4 times as much as they give thanks to God in a day. of course, that's a general statistic. thankfully, some Christians are more faithful than that.

most of us have seen people in public complaining, no doubt. in restaurants, there are quite a lot of people who love to complain about the food. (some travelers on travel channels do it too!) for them, a little bit of imperfection is worth half an hour of intense complaining to the manager. you might shake your head, but it's true! of course, there's a special bunch of people who tends to do this more often: the rich people.

not to pick on these people, but rich people tend to have indulged themselves in the best-est of things - so much so that they can only walk on floors made of gold. they indulge themselves only in royal perfection. (i know the expressions i have used are extreme, but to love materials is to love materials. in God's eyes, they are the same, no matter the magnitude of it.)

i know several people who loves to delight themselves in the best of things available. they purchase things as though money grows on trees. they have materials that they need, but they long for better ones. they have what they need, but they crave for what they want.

this syndrome is mostly transmitted from one person to another by jealousy.

arh... the Word of God has clearly spoken not to be jealous of anything.

Peace of mind makes the body healthy, but jealousy is like a cancer.
(Proverbs 14: 30)

Anger is cruel and destructive, but it is nothing compared to jealousy.
(Proverbs 27: 4)

i don't want cancer, do you? so, please don't be jealous of anything. appreciate what you have, no matter how small it is. i know i still need to control my cravings too. (i'm still not perfect with this thing too, you know?) but i hope together we can get rid of this disease forever!

final message: turn your "more and more money" attitude to "more and more of God"!

=)

"with a greatful heart, with a song of praise, with an outstreched arm, i will bless Your name. thank You Lord, i just want to thank You Lord"
- lyrics of "thank You Lord" by don moen