Anointing The Anointed One...Part 1

Hello dear readers, I have continuously been unsystematic in updating my blogs but here I would like to share something new again. As usual, I was following up with Pastor's sermon in Sunday service and it encircled Judas, The Betrayer. As I was reading the context given, I had a thought of writing it in a different way. 

Lets now see the context from John 12:3-5 and this would be the foundation of this post.

We are going to see several aspects of how it unfolds by dividing the passage into 3 parts:
a) Mary took an expensive fragrant oil to anoint Jesus's feet.
b) The house was filled with the fragrance of the oil
c) Judas's response

Mary took an expensive fragrant oil to anoint Jesus's feet

We see that Mary anointed Jesus's feet with an expensive oil. How we know how expensive it was? Ok Bible never leaves us questioning and so it answers our doubts through Judas's response saying that it was worth 300 denarii and it was actually about one year's wages for a worker. If it was taken to match recent days, an average wage for a normal worker is about RM800 per month. For a year, it will total up to RM800 x 12 = RM9600. It is just a calculation for least case and we know that nowadays average wage can go up to RM1000 a month. But it doesn't matter, almost RM10000 worth oil poured on His feet just like that. No wonder Judas fell back with great shock! I would have rolled on the floor asking her whether she was mad.

But lets look at it properly. She did that because that was the highest value of appreciation she could offer for saving her beloved brother's life. She knew Jesus worth more than that but that's the much she had. The money that was saved for sustenance of their lives was spent at His feet. This shows that she wholly believed that He is more than sufficient to sustain her life and not the money. She praised Him with all she had. That's what I call a serious Worship!

But it must have been the Best Perfume at that time because it costed up to RM10,000. Jesus deserves your best and not the alternative. Even The Best, when you humble it down to His feet, it touches His heart more than anything. It is not necessarily a perfume or money. It can be your dedication, worship, praise, thanksgiving and adoration. In all manner give Him your best. He deserves it!

Ladies treasure their hair the most more than anything in the world. Mary wiped the feet of Jesus that was anointed with perfume with her HAIR! I was like what? Didn't she manage to find a towel or something? But it alarmed me something else. Woman who takes best care of her hair wiped One's feet showing great reverence and superiority He has. In front of Him, all the best shall be least and all the least shall be the best. Secondly, Jesus has said before in His messages that when you put your trust in Him, not one strand of your hair shall be moved. He also says that all our hairs are numbered. So it means He has great care for us even in a minute thing. So wiping His feet with hair symbolizes a gratitude for His great Care and Love for us.

Wow! It is just one part and so much to talk about. So in the next posts we shall see further on the next divisions of the context!

Amen.

My Anchor of Hope

                                              

Hello readers, how are you all? So this is once in a blue moon where I get to post something in the midnight. So what is this post all about? I always wanted to write about it but thanks to a Christian song on highlighting it out to me.

Yes it is all about The Anchor of Hope. We often, knowing and unknowingly, refer to Jesus as The Anchor of Hope. I wondered why and as usual it led me to a beautiful revelation of whom He was. I really feel blessed to share this in my blog. Let's systemically see how to opens up from the very basic understanding of an Anchor.

Wikipedia defines Anchor as a instrument that is used to hold a boat or ship from drifting away. While in normal words we can say that an anchor is used to station a ship or a boat. Based on my knowledge so far, I have listed down the basic facts of an anchor. I believe there are plenty more.

Facts of Anchor:
a) A tool to hold an object from drifting away
b) Though it holds the boat in place, the boat still moves to and fro, propagates.
c) It enables the process of loading and unloading to take place.
d) It has to go down to make sure the boat stays up safe and stable.

Lets see how it applies to the term Anchor of Hope. We need to understand the symbolic meaning of some terms before we can see further. Boat here refers to the hope and Anchor as Jesus.

a)  A tool to hold an object drifting away

Jesus is referred as The Anchor of Hope. Like the anchor holds the boat from drifting away, Jesus holds us with His Gracious Love from drifting away to the tragic pathway of the world. His love is more than enough for us to survive in this world. Once we believe in Him, or like the boat trusts the anchor, He shall hold us tight in the stormy, tragic and disastrous world. 


b) Though it holds the boat in place, the boat still moves to and fro, propagates.

We often see that boat on shore doesn't really stay stationary. It propagates to and fro due to the wavy sea waves. But no matter what, it has its limits and shall return back to position being pulled by the force of the anchor. Similarly, Jesus being our Anchor of Hope, might seem silent in some issues causing us to doubt our hope in Him and start to drift away little from the true path. We might seem like going very much away from safety and comfortability but when we allow it to happen and keep calm and also trust in Him, we shall definitely come back to safer and stable position because Jesus is a Restoring God. He shall pull us back and keep us stable in our life and problems.

c) It enables the process of loading and unloading to take place.

So this is mere common sense. The boat needed to be anchored in the shore to enable it to be loaded and unloaded or else it might be almost impossible to do it. Similarly, when we stay calm relying on Him as our Anchor of Hope, though it might seem a little unstable, but it the most ideal position to load and unload data. Data is refers to a massive amount of matters. Namely blessings and curses, good names and bad names, love and hatred, etc. A boat has to be unloaded first to be loaded with newer goods. So negative gets unloaded and positive gets loaded when we have complete hope and trust in Him.


d) It has to go down to make sure the boat stays up safe and stable.

Finally, the anchor has to be thrown down to enable the safe and stable position of the boat. Without it being thrown down, it is impossible to station a boat. So, Jesus was thrown, rejected and crucified for our sins and trespassing when then He rose to defeat Death and have complete control over the universe. So now being the Cornerstone and Foundation as well as Anchor of Hope, Jesus is able to hold onto us from drifting, toppling and sinking. He went Down and Rose Up to make sure we always stay Up.


These are some of the reasons we call Him The Anchor of Hope. He is the Only One who is completely reliable and trustworthy. With Him beside, our boat shall not be moved. 
MY REDEEMER LIVES.
Take Care. 

Cheated? Trust me, it is temporary..

     So yeah today is 6th May 2013 and I am certainly writing this after Malaysia's Historical Election Day. Many speculations, events and activities took place on this day that stirred up most Malaysians even to this morning. I am supportive towards better Malaysia and so I practically got angry as well as upset with so much of unjust around me.
     Since this is not a political blog, I am not going to comment on any parties or candidates, though I wish to. But reviewing what happened yesterday, I can't stand it, I need to write it out. So it happened in front of my eyes. Biased, unjust, one-sided, democratic failure etc all took place at once. I felt so cheated and heartbroken of the incident yesterday. We all know who supposed to win and we all know who won. 
     I couldn't take it and at one point I started questioning God on why such things happen? So practically let's see what Bible has to add to this situation. It is very important for us to reflect back everything to The Bible because Nothing happens without His knowledge. If He knew it and it happened, there must be a reason or similar events in The Bible as well.
     Looking back in the Old Testament, I realised that so many injustice and cruelty have taken place and God might seem silent about that matter but finally we can see what was His reaction. Firstly, in the case of Jacob. Jacob was a prophetic child who was well pleased by his parents. But he had an elder brother and we know that olden tradition suggests that oldest son gets twice the property and they have certain specialities. Esau, the elder brother being exposed to this was willing to sell his birthright to Jacob for a small issue. Rather than looking that way, Jacob cleverly pushed Esau to such situation to buy his birthright. Jacob indirectly cheated his brother. He went on to act as Esau to his old and eye-blurred father to obtain the fullest blessing and older son's specialities. So, Jacob cheated his father as well.
     But God rather seemed silent in this two occasions permitting it to take place. I wondered why? But reading on further gave me a clearer picture of what God intended to do. He needed Jacob to accomplish His plans and He didn't want Jacob's shortcoming to delay His plans. But once His plans are done, Jacob's attitude and his mastermind in cheating gets its reward. Jacob was cheated by his father-in-law on giving his daughter for marriage, Jacob was cheated by his wife and worst still his son defiled Jacob's bed. 
     God never lets anyone or any sin unpunished. They have got to meet their reactions of what they did so that they can learn how others felt when it initially took place. In our country, we might feel that people have got cheated, they have been snatched off of their democracy or even our country is doomed. We might also feel that God is rather silent on this issue.
    But Bible teaches us that all this are allowed to happen for a moment and for a purpose. Job says God's plan can never be stopped or delayed by anyone, absolutely anyone. So as true Malaysians, we should not loose hope. What happened yesterday might be temporary necessary to bring His plan to come to pass and then we shall see His true reward for those who have 'sincerely' participated in the General Election.
     Bible says what we declare by our mouth, He shall make it come to pass. Don't loose hope and say negative words. Say positive words and encourage others to keep fighting to transform this country to a better Malaysia. Besides, there are many events in The Bible that might give us some inspiration in this time of let down. More to come and stay tuned.

God says My plans are to prosper you and not harm you. So why worry?
Keep calm and Pray Hard!
God Bless.

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.