Unlimited Access

Two days ago, Monte and I were out praying at Changi which is one of our favourite haunts. God has given us unlimited access into His presence. Day or night, anytime, anywhere we want to meet Him, He will be there. He will never keep us waiting and wanting. He longs for us. In the quietness of our homes, at our frantic, fast paced work places, or even in a supermarket; all we have to do is to reach out to Him and lock ourselves with Him.

The human mind can never comprehend how mortal beings like us can enter freely into the presence of a holy God who is so pure, amazing and awesome. When we enter into prayer, it is not merely a place of liberty and wholeness, it is also a place of safety and refuge. In our frailty, we can do nothing except through the power and grace of God. We not only see our weaknesses and vulnerability; we also begin to see His greatness and strength to carry us through life’s journey.

In Sickness and in Health

The YouTube is all abuzz with a recent clip called the Peacock Dance. A man by the name of Jiang Ren Rui who went on the show called China’s Got Talent and moved the hearts of millions of people around the globe. He loved his wife unconditionally. A special device that her husband had painstakingly made with his hands overjoyed his wife, who was completely paralyzed except for the ability to make facial movements.

From time to time, we hear about people who abandoned their spouses when a terminal illness strikes. But here is a man who epitomizes what the true essence of the marital vow is by loving his wife ‘in sickness and in health’.

Join me in viewing this is amazing clip of unconditional love which certainly exists today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZpWpWFQrY

Hope Alive

The Lord keeps us going as we walk faithfully and closely with Him. We were once without hope but the God in His mercy poured His life into ours.  Hope begins to grow and blossom.  As long as we have breath, we will not give up believing that God will fulfill His purposes in and through us. Hope never dwindles; on the contrary, the amazing love and power of the living God keeps our hope alive and burning. As we focus on the Lord, He strengthens and empowers us to soldier on faithfully.  We serve a strong and mighty God who loved us with an everlasting love.  He will lead us on in victory.  He will lead us on from strength to strength.

Meeting the Needs of the Elderly

The growing aging population in Singapore has opened up many opportunities for companies that cater to the needs of the elderly, civil societies, industries and establishments to look into meeting and serving the needs of the elderly.

The government is also actively rolling out plans and initiatives to help meet the need of our senior citizens. They are to be commended for all that has been achieved. They continue to improve on the existing infrastructure, facilities and amenities.

Recently, while crossing the road near Ang Mo Kio, I saw a special device at the crossing. When a senior citizen (people age 60 and above) taps his card on it, the crossing time will be extended so that this allows the elderly to have sufficient time to cross over. This is a wonderful and thoughtful.

I have aged parents and I am fully aware of the limitations and challenges the elderly people face on a daily basis. Recently, I witness a scary incident where an elderly woman almost fell off the bus while alighting because the bus driver did not drive near the curb. Most elderly people have knee problems and the distance from the step of the bus to the road is hard to reach.

As we continue to grow as a striving country, we want to serve the needs of all people not forgetting the elderly. Without their sacrifice and labour, we will not be where we are today.

Finishing Strong

We begin each journey with an end in view. The journey we embark on is filled with the goodness of the Lord. This journey of hope and endess possibilities is boundless. It is full of the promises of God.

Starting well is important but finishing well is crucial. We want to finish strong in the Lord. We want to live by the power of God's Spirit.

We walk in His love. We are empowered by His grace. We surrender completely to His rule and reign. He covers us in the shadow of His wings. He is faithful to keep us from falling. For the crown of life awaits those who persevere and overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

The Lord lives in and through our broken lives. The life and light of Christ shine upon us. The strength of God's Spirit is upon us.

Lord, empower us to live by the power of Your Spirit. As we put one step after the other, our hearts burn with gratitude. Help us to finish this race for the glory of Your name.

At Risk Kids

Currently, I am conducting the Tuning In programme at a primary school in Yishun. This is a programme tailored for at risk children. Such programmes are helping secondary school students, but the ideal of reaching out to the primary school children is very significant because it is crucial to intervene in the children’s life as early as we can.

At risk kids are mostly from broken homes. Some are from single-parent homes, orphaned or they have parents who are divorced or are currently in the midst of the divorce proceedings. Some of the children have been abused. Many come from dysfunctional families.

Very often, when the parents are in the battle of a bitter divorce, the kids blame themselves for their parent’s divorce. They are plagued with guilt, as they wrongly perceived that they are the cause of the fallout.

When I relate to these children, it is not hard to pick up signs despondency, sadness and helplessness. When they come to school, they may be happy for a brief moment but when they get home, things remain difficult and they are living with fear, anxiety and misery. As they are still young children, it can be daunting as they are forced to process complicated matters even though they may not be at fault to start. What the kids go through ultimately is translated to poor academic performance.

I thank the Lord for the opportunity to be involved with these precious children. The Lord certainly has His eyes on them. I trust that their lives will turn around. They will begin to gain self worth, confidence and someday they can use what they have gone through to help others who are in need.

He is the Reason

God pursues us with His love unconditionally. We can never repay Him with anything that we possess except to love Him more with each passing day. Running to the Lord’s embrace, basking in His presence conjure images of overflowing love and devotion to His loving kindness and tender mercies. We are mindful of His commitment and covenant towards us. He is the reason of our existence. He is the reason why we keep loving and living. He is the reason why we rise with hope and expectancy when dawn breaks. He is the reason for our being. As we trust the Lord wholeheartedly, He pours His spirit on us and empowers us to be all that He desires us to be. All honour, glory and power be unto our God, the God of heaven and earth, the God omnipotent, the God of this universe.

The Humble Homecoming

This is a short reflection of Henri Nouwen's book The Return of the Prodigal Son.

Let us focus on the repentant son. When he finally came to his senses, he returned home to his father with remorse and shame. He came to the end of himself; the party was over and his life with an utter mess and confusion. 

He made the best decision to head back home. Deep in his heart, he knew that if anyone was going to rescue him at that unthinkable and deplorable state, that person was none other than his father. 

He had faith in His father. After hurting his father’s heart, it took the son tremendous courage and humility to make his way home. 

All pride and arrogance melted away. He gained freedom and hope in his father’s forgiveness and love.

Nouwen noted: “The immense joy in welcoming back the lost son hides the immense sorrow that has gone before.” Unspeakable joy overshadowed sorrow that glorious day when the loving father ran towards his son.

If the prodigal son had entertained fear and doubt, his return would not have taken place. He will be lost forever. He could have died, left a vagrant or derange. 

He overcame because he did not dwell on his failure and loss. He put his complete trust in His father’s love. He was set free through his father’s love.

The unconditional and undying love of Father God spurred him on to run back to his father. 

The story of love and forgiveness is shared down the corridor of time. God in His love and mercy forgives us. He embraces us unconditional. We love much because we have been forgiven much.

His Undying Love

Recently, I read an amazing book entitled The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen.  Nouwen quoted Kenneth Bailey that read:

“Kenneth Bailey, in his penetrating explanation of Luke’s story, shows that the son’s manner of leaving is tantamount to wishing his father dead. Bailey writes: For over fifteen years I have been asking people of all walks of life from Morocco to India and from Turkey to the Sudan about the implications of a son’s request for his inheritance while the father is still living. The answer has always been emphatically the same…the conversation runs as follows: Has anyone ever made such a request in your village? Never! Could anyone ever make such a request? Impossible! If anyone ever did, what would happen? His father would beat him, of course! Why? The request means – he wants his father to die.”

All the responses point us to the depth of the father’s love. Pride and anger would have stopped the father from receiving his returning son. Many earthly fathers could have long severed their relationship with such a wicked son but not this father. He did not allow unforgiveness and bitterness to deter him from reconciling with his beloved son. In fact, the word of God tells us that the aging father, upon seeing his younger son was moved to pity and he ran towards him. His love overshadowed any wrongdoing that his son had committed. Love truly covers a multitude of sins. He was determined to tell his son that nothing he has done will ever stop him from loving him. Since the day, the wayward son left home, his father’s hope for his return never dwindled. Love compelled the father to believe the impossible. Love compelled him to put away all pride and bitterness for all that mattered was his desire to see his son again. Love conquerered every conceivable human frailty and failure to reveal the undying love of our loving father. He pursues us relentlessly with His undying love.