Be As Wise As Serpent

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed upload as I was very worked up with college assignments and Good Friday arrangements. With His grace, all went well.

Now regarding 'Be as wise as serpent', I have chosen this topic to discuss it in my blog quite long time ago. But I realised that it is a very wide topic with so many perspectives of view. Well I chose one but there are many untouched views on this context. I've heard Pastors speak on this in total different manner and so yeah one verse can speak in many different dimensions.

Starting with a testimony:

Last night (4/4/2013), when I was coming back home, mom and I happened to see a snake, actually not us but the street dogs spotted it. But it was like the first time ever we saw a live snake in motion in front of our house. Filled with great fear, come on I am also a human, and also with so much anticipation of what's going to happen next, we called the Pertahanan Awam and they came in time to catch it. This incident greatly rekindled my thoughts to write about what Jesus said by "Be as wise as Serpents".

He called us to be different, holy, innocent, not evil, good-hearted, helpful and so on. He used animals as an example in some cases. We Christians and even the world know that snake is the earliest reptile that was deceived by Satan and it became an active agent of him. It was cursed, isolated and lowly looked at. 

I always asked myself, Wisdom is something that comes from God and why did Jesus say be as wise as serpents and not as Jesus Himself. He is the Highest form of Wisdom. Why did he ask to be like the snakes? Was He kidding or He had some in-depth meaning behind it?

Praise God, it was revealed to me few days after I questioned Him about this. Godly wisdom is indeed the highest of all and it has no words to be described. Fearing God is the beginning of wisdom Bible says. Then why serpent? I remembered a childhood story or incident in my life. I used to call my sister dog and scold her so. And elders used to ask me why I called her that and I had no answer. They told me that only a dog knows the behaviour of another dog. So I was a dog to call my sister a dog.

So be as wise as serpents comes to light here. Godly wisdom brings you near God and make you walk in His ways. But when Jesus says Be as Wise as Serpents, He told that to the disciples when they were supposed to go out to the public and preach to them. They were ministered to heal and preach. So being as wise as serpents here means, if Godly wisdom enables you to know God more, serpent-ly wisdom enables you to detect his(satan) movements in your journey. This wisdom will alarm you even before you could do anything anywhere. Getting alarmed gives you a chance to get rid of it before starting your ministry. World is filled with vanishing wisdom in other words, serpent-ly wisdom. And that is why one with Ipad and Iphone still longs for Ipad Mini though it just another version of it. This wisdom doesn't bring you anywhere near God but Christians with this wisdom would know what are Satan's strategy to weaken their efforts in life.

Track down his strategies and weaken it with the power of God and just keep moving forward. We have a lot of work to do. Time is ticking by and there is only little time left alongside with massive work to do. When Master comes to ask what we've done so far, let's not show empty hands.

Be as Wise as Serpents but as Innocent as Doves.

Burn Your Boat

TAKEN FROM "BURN YOUR BOAT" BY REV. PRINCE GUNERATNAM, CALVARY TODAY.


As the title suggests, you will read about What Boat You've Got To Burn in Christian Life. I was practically travelling to my University on fine morning when I heard this message from Rev. Prince Guneratnam. I got so excited and marvelled at the depth of the message. I was quite attracted to his English as well. But to be clearer when you read the post, I would suggest that you should read it with an open mind.

So before you can burn your boat, what boat are you in now? Looking at The Bible, Simon called Peter was initially a fisherman. He was one of the finest in his town and great career man. He had great moments with his nets and fishes. And obviously he travelled to the mid sea with a boat. But that isn't the matter yet.

When Jesus called him to follow, he was called to fish men. He left behind the boat and the net and followed Jesus alongside with his brother. I mean like if Jesus called me when I was playing FIFA 2013, I would have surely asked Him to wait (sincere lar). But Simon Peter followed without a word. That was fascinating.

He just left behind his career, hope and life supporting job to follow Jesus. And the story goes as he followed Jesus till the synagogue judgement and then ran away. But it is admitted that he is indeed one of the most promising disciples of all whom Jesus himself called the Rock of the Church.

But after Jesus had died and resurrected, which Simon Peter did not know, things were different than it were before. When Jesus lived with them, they forgot their past and followed Jesus. Faced everything with Him and even came forward to die with Him. But when He died, they all were affected by great sorrow and confusion. Simon Peter especially, was clueless of his future. He was called out of his older profession of fisherman by Jesus to be assigned to another job.

But due to the uncertainty of his future or in other words, a small hole in the faith in Jesus, Peter return to the sea and to his boat to continue his work. Jesus said Fish-Men but he chose Fisher-Man. He had a choice to go back to. And then Jesus appeared to him and tested him again before assigning him to do His ministry.

What we've got derive from here is that, Jesus doesn't call free people who has nothing to do to give them something to do. He calls busy people who would have had their future well planned. He calls people who think they have nothing to do with ministry. If you think that it's because of your qualification He's going to call you, no, He calls you as He wishes.

When He calls, our life needs great transformation. We need to become Peter from Simon. From wild to soft; rude to polite; arrogant to humble; unavailable to always available. Simon was a fisherman but Peter was a Men-Fisher. Both might look alike but the latter needs the Help of the Holy Spirit to do.

Secondly, BURN YOUR BOAT! Peter did not burn his boat and that's why when he was stroked by adversaries, he turned back to normal life. NO! God doesn't work that way. Burn your past when God calls you. Don't ever think that it might back you up when trouble arrives. Instead, place Jesus in Your Boat who will safely sail you through in all aspects of life.

If you think your degree, work, talents, influence etc might back you up when you face problems in ministries, I tell you, please press Ctrl+A and Delete it now. It's just to survive in the world today and THAT'S ALL.

Burn your boat and Don't turn back! He will provide and protect!

Amen.

Live to Know it, Know to Live it!!

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, He gave His One and Only Begotten Son,...

Being the backbone of the Bible, this verse has been a compulsory verse that every Christian should know by heart. Do they know it? Doesn't matter because most people who know it by heart don't keep it in their heart. Knowing it and living it is two different things that we need to clearly know.

When I was a teenager, I loved to listen about my childhood stories from my grandparents, uncles and aunts, my parents, sister and so on. It was very exciting and inspiring as well. As I grew even more, I started observing kids whom I saw and related myself to them. Many things that were forgotten came to my memory.

Many of them were entertaining but some of them were inspiring. For example, when I was small I used to get obsessed with some kind of toys, as we all do right. I myself have observed my cousin babies getting obsessed with something that might be dangerous or lethal. Its not easy to get that thing from their hand. You have to be an expert I would say to convince them to get it.

We know it might harm them, like pins and knives, but they think we want to share their toy. So as it goes in that manner, one easy way to get rid of it is to introduce something more interesting that they might love it more than the previous so that they will get hold onto this. Like keys and colourful stuffs, we always try to compensate something to get that thing from them.

We also can see this character among animals and adults sometimes. But it taught me a deeper lesson regarding John 3:16. When you love something so much, you won't want to let it go unless for something else that you love more that what you have. I will give you another example.

You own a Wira and you love it so much. No matter who asks it you won't give it, not that you don't want to but they might not take care of the car the same way as you did. But when you want to get a Ferrari maybe, you would give up on this car because you love it more than Wira. Some people maintain both but trust me, their heart lays more towards the Ferrari. Done with the example, simple one I guess.

Similarly, God loves Jesus more than anything and He will Never give Jesus up for anyone. But He did give Jesus up, but why? God loved someone more than Him? Yes, God loved His children, us so much that He gave up Jesus to redeem us eternally. How deep His love could have been that He gave up something that He loved so much for our sake? How graceful and merciful He could have been in letting His only Son to die on the cross for our sins?

From the beginning, He always wanted His children to be with Him. Trust me, when He can give Jesus as a redemption for us, He can do anything to bring back His children. So, this life is purely a grace and gift of God because His Son has redeemed us eternally. Let's appreciate it and bring our fellow brothers and sisters back home. TIME TO GO BACK HOME!

Amen!!

Jesus started the Gotong Royong

I always felt irritated with the term "Gotong-Royong" whenever it popped out in my school. Not to be surprised that I skipped most of it during my primary and secondary days. But as I entered my high school life, I attended one of the Gotong-royong in my school just to claim my KoKo marks. I realised that it wasn't bad at all. Despite having fun, I learnt a lot of things, physically and spiritually.

My church pastor, Ps Steve has always inspired me to think in different ways where most people would not do. He is a pro and one of his kind. But sometimes, when I have nothing much to do, I tried doing it and surprisingly I learnt massive stuffs. This post will elaborate more on one of my own thoughts (inspired by The Bible).

One day, as I was talking to my mother pertaining a context from The Bible, I had to exemplify something to clarify my stand. I wasn't that spontaneous and all I had to use was a drain. But somehow ( I would say Jesus ) it made sense to me as I finished explaining. It was about Christian life again but in another manner instead.

I said all Christian Life should be like a drain. My mom stared at me, but yes it should be like a drain. Most people think it's a dirty thing, and for some it's a ancient technology and for some it's something smelly. But very few would relate it to Christian life. I did it because I remember a song called "Picked me up from the Miry Clay".

We were initially like some clogged drainage with massive rubbish and unwanted creatures living in. We had no control over ourselves and we couldn't clean ourselves. We stood stagnant and never made any move to get better but did everything to worsen the situation. As time passed, we learnt how to live in the smelly surroundings. 

Jesus saw this and He had no choice but to come down and clean it Once for all. I meant He came down, meaning He stepped into the dirty, filthy and disgusting drainage and cleaned it with His blood. Like the man in the picture, He literally made us no more stagnant but running waters. Now by His grace, we are clean, fresh and running freely.

But wait does it end there? No definitely. What is the primary role of a drainage? The running water and perfect drainage system maintains the Cleanliness of an area. Similarly, what we got freely, we have to give it freely. Due to clean nature we possess now, God has blessed us with abundance in everything. Many people know how to get blessed but they fail to bless.

Like drain systems, we have to keep the water or in other words, the blessings running to others to make sure the water is running and not stagnant. When we pass our blessings to others, God shall shower us with newer one and even that we keep passing on. If we want to keep everything to ourself, we will become stagnant and the trouble begins there. Smell, unwanted creatures, dirt, virus etc.

So, remember, whenever you see the drain, thank God for His unfailing love in giving us His Only Son for Redemption. Also do remember that, bless others so that you are blessed. Keep the water running!

Amen. 

Rose, A Good Teacher?

If you're reading this article with Valentine's Day mood, I'm so sorry to disappoint you guys. This is an all out Bible study pertaining Rose. I have always wondered why among all other flowers, Roses are hyped, even among Christians.

      Many of us use Roses for numerous reasons including Birthdays, Marriage Proposals, Sign of Love and so on. But in this article, we are going to see the Rose in whole different view. I myself love Roses but it has too many 'teacher' elements which highlighted to me many useful stuffs. I would like to share some of those.

      Let's say you get a whole Rose flower and lay it on your table. Now you see a Rose with its stem connecting to the Red beautiful petals. Why am I exaggerating this scenario? Roses are indeed one of the most famous and hyped flowers of all times. You are a non-practical person if you're to enter a Birthday house without a Rose.

      But do you know that it teaches us great stuff? God said, ' Go learn from the ants,...', similarly His creations are very much diligent to reveal to us something all the time. Let's say that the root is where you are now, 'the worldly'. And the stem is the path you take. Finally, the Red and Beautiful Petals are your dream and destination which you determine to satisfy the fleshly needs. Now, these are the metaphors or comparisons will be used throughout the article. 

      When we start our life, we start from the root and we keep moving up. Walking through the stem. No matter how many leaves diverge, we are always quite determined about our life's goals and dreams and personal needs. Despite all the advises and lectures, we keep walking. Despite all the moral teachings and religious teachings, we keep walking. Despite knowing that world today will keep changing, we keep walking. It's because all we want is our personal satisfaction. Let it be smoking, drugs, prostitution, cinema etc.

      As a result of walking diligently, we do get to our destination successfully. Those who steals cigarette sticks from their dad's box shall definitely place it on their lips and light it. Despite everything, somehow we make sure that what we wanted is achieved. But if you look at the Rose carefully, it's best when it's fresh but sadly it doesn't stay fresh all the time.

      Similarly, things that seem joyous and extremely cool begin to fade and we will start to look for another Rose. And another; so on. But we can never get satisfied with one thing for long. That's when we start looking to The Creator. Now, our repentance begins with great joy but wait. The journey we had traveled had not been reversed yet. We got saved but,...

      Have you ever placed your hands on the stem and glide it according to the directions of the thorns? Trust me, it doesn't hurt much. Try this, glide your hands in the opposite way. You would end up tearing and swearing. That's what life is. You might be saved but it doesn't mean that Jesus will walk you back the journey. You have to turn back and start walking to the root and then get onto a new life. But it will be extremely painful, hurting, deadly, dangerous and you would want to die. The thorns that did not show up when you walked along will stand up when you walk against it. But Jesus will hold you and pick you up every time you fall. He will suffer the thorns with you. He will cry and bleed with you just to get you back to the root. 

      Once you're at the root, you will see His marvelous power which will lift you up above all the adversaries you suffered! Jesus never promised a Bed of Roses, but He promised that He will be with you till THE END. So, why worry! 

Amen.

Christian Life is A Race, but Which One?

OR

Paul said "I finished my Race with Joy" in one of his epistles. In this 21st century, race has taken dimension in many forms and fields. In fact, there is also a race to eat the fastest. But looking at the context, initially there was only one form of race we knew, sprinting race. But even in that, what are we, 4x100m or 1x100m or 4x100m relay etc?

As I am a active sportsman(for writing purpose only), I wondered which race was the most suitable to slot in my Christian life. Apparently, when I was in UTAR attending a Chemistry lecture, I thought of a race that suits Christian Life the most. Which is, 4x100m Relay! Why?

If Christian life was all about you from the Beginning till the End, then you might not want to read this post. Because to me, Christian life is more about how you run your race and how it affects others' Christian Life.

For example, if one runner slows down, in order to win, the other should sprint more. If one sprinted more than usual and their team is in lead, then the other runners have to just maintain their normal speed. At the end, the combined performance that bring the team A Joyous Moment but remember, personal performance here matter the most.

In Christian life, what you do and how well you grow might be personal to you. Remember, your own salvation did not fall from the heavens but from a believer's mouth. Jesus was the one saved you but it was definitely through someone, in some rare cases, something. But no matter what, it was not an individual effort.

If only the one talked to you did not turn up that day, darkness would have still ruled your life. So their run was worth it and that was why you're saved today. But it doesn't end there. The baton has dropped in your hands now. You have to run with all you have and pass the baton to the next person and so on till Jesus come to finish the race.

Once you drop the baton, it is going to be rather impossible to complete the race effectively. So, Christian life is a combined effort which roots from marvelous individual effort.

Amen!





Towards Greater Things?

John 14:12,

   In this context, we see that Jesus spoke to the disciples about them doing greater things than what Jesus did during His days. There are many seen and unseen messages in that one sentence alone. Let's see what He really meant and what the world has understood from it.
   Firstly, we see the fulfilment of that promise in just few months after Jesus saying them. The book of Acts confirms the journey of the Gospel outside Israel for the first time and now The Holy Bible and Jesus Christ are no more strangers in almost every part of the World. These were definitely possible only with His power.
   Besides, we also see that so many prayer meetings, big scale concerts, healing meetings, crusades and the transition of the Gospel throughout many media channels happen in front of our eyes. Its for sure that we are doing Greater Things already. The Word wasn't preached so efficiently and effectively like this before.
   These have certainly motivated and inspired many Christians to rise up to do Greater Things for Jesus Christ and The Kingdom of God. But out of 100 only 1 stands till the last winning line of that race. Many fall down and many back off and some still thinking of how to start. Why the initial motivation could not glide them through? Have they lost their spirit?
   No, none of these are true. The real reason behind the 'slow down' is that they misunderstood or selectively understood the context of John 14:12. Jesus did say we will do the same works He did, and yes we are doing it. He also said we will do greater things, and yes we are doing it too. But the fact is that, for doing what Jesus did also means that doing the same works He did and GOING THROUGH THE SAME TROUBLE AND PERSECUTION HE WENT THROUGH.
   Doing Greater Things means, GOING THROUGH GREATER TRIBULATIONS THAN WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS. Most of us look at the face part of that verse and forget the remaining part of it. Our heart gets ready to perform miracles but not ready to be persecuted. Jesus Himself said that There will be Persecutions. But somehow Christian life just tries its best to skip that part.
   It was not His miracles alone saved us but it was His persecutions and tribulations that powerfully promised us eternal life. So its not wrong to believe in greater things but greater persecutions will result in performing greater things shall not be forgotten.

Amen!