God has a great purpose behind every problem. – Dr A R Bernard
So see problems differently. See it as personal development for molding your character. We all need problems from time to time to mold our character, just like how we need to sharpen our knives from time to time when it becomes blunt.
God Almighty had to assure him.
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. - Jos 1:6-7
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." - Jos 1:9
Now the LORD said to Joshua: "Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. - Jos 8:1
Though Joshua had fear and doubts, he was encouraged by the Lord, his mentor and even the people he was leading. The Lord even exalted Joshua before the people.
And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. - Jos 3:7
And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. - Jos 4:14
In the end, he rose above the circumstances, his inadequacies, his inferiority and did might exploits for the Lord.
Jos 6 - talks about the destruction of Jericho
Jos 8 - talks about the fall of Ai
Jos 10 - talks about the execution of Amorite Kings and the conquest of the Southland
Jos 11 - talks about the Northern Conquest
Sometimes we let doubts, inferiority and challenges overshadowed what God has called us to do. Sometimes we struggle with apprehension and fear. But as we hold on to the hope of the Words that are spoken forth, it brings forth life, the life to do move on with God, the life that empowers us to fight a good fight of faith, the life that will enables us to conquer our difficulties, just like Joshua.
SO BE COURAGEOUS AND CONQUER!
At the end of the day, we we can be like Paul who said 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.'
Irene Chia
I was mediating on the verse 'the first shall be the last and the last shall be the first' after Pst Tan's message last weekend. I realised that the verse signifies a cycle. The cycle will only stop until the day you meet Jesus. Those who are the first today may one day be the last and the last today may one day become the first. There is redemption connotation to this verse.
When I first heard and read the Word, I thought it was an absolute - meaning when you become the last already after falling from the first, you cannot move on to be the first anymore.
However, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Moses in this case. Moses spend 40 years thinking he was a somebody (the first), another 40 years being a nobody (the last), and finally the last 40 years being the leader of Israel (the first). The same applies to Peter. Peter was the outspoken one and one of the firsts of Jesus disciple (the first), then he denied Jesus (the last) but he eventually became a great apostle (the first).
I realised that just because one is last today because he has fallen from being the first does not mean that he will not become the first again. He will become the first again so long he practices the 3 attitudes that Ps Tan mentioned - repentance, faith and fruitfulness.
So, even after you made a mistake, and have fallen from the first, the verse will still keep on applying. God is not one who will mark us as failures. We hold the power to decide which one we want to be - the first or the last.
Have you watched dramas or movies before thinking you know how it's going to end and the ending is entirely different from what you expect?
I have learnt in life that it's not about how you start but how you end... Familiar saying but hearing it and experiencing it is two different stories. Some people begin well but along the race, they fall away. Some people didn't start on the right foot, but eventually adjusted or changed themselves.
Sometimes seeing other who started later going past you in a race may not be pleasant. But always remember, you decide the pace of the race. You decide if you are going to end it. You decide when to end it - give up halfway or finish till the end.
Sometimes perservering till the end will allow it time for a twist to end, an unexpected result, just like drama.
Keep on keeping on.
I just saw a documentary on Discovery Channel on one of the seven wonders of the world - The Hanging Monastery. It was simply magnificent. One can only wonder how the ancient Chinese could come up with such a ingenious architecture - to hang a monastery in mid air. The architecture still bedazzle engineers even till this day.
It was simply breath-taking. I have to go there one day. It would be an awesome experience. To be there will be mind-blowing, standing on a piece of historical evidence that goes back to more than 1000 years ago.
Perched precariously on a near-vertical cliff face of the Golden Dragon Gorge (Jinlong guan) is the Hanging Monastery or the Monastery in Mid-Air (Xuankong si). This is an early architectural feat that is stunning, particularly when you know that the original temple was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty over 1,400 years ago (although later renovated in the Tang, Jin, Ming and Qing Dynasties). It hangs on the west cliff of Jinxia Gorge more than 50 meters above the ground.
'Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things, even if it is unpopular.'
Peter Drucker, the management guru, said the part part. I added in the last part 'even if it is unpopular'.
I have been thinking of leadership lately. Isn't it true that leadership is about doing the right things, good leadership that is. Popularity is subjective. Leaders who dare to do the right things even at the expense of being unpopular are good leaders. These leaders are bold and not subjected to the surrounding pressures. There is a weekly poll on the popularity of the US President. If the most powerful man live by the polls, it would be chaotic in this world.
Lately, Ps Kong's blog post on 'What's up with masturbation?' has caused quite a stir (see http://www.konghee.com/www/2009/06/what-up-with-masturbation/) I shan't comment on the content. Know that he would be flamed on his blog, he still chose to put up this blog. Why this controversial topic? He explains that it was because many people had sent him messages to ask for help and advice in this area. Hence, he wanted to address this topic once and for all. I thought it was a pretty cool post considering this is a topic which many will avoid. The word masturbation is almost like a taboo word in the church world, let alone talk about it.
Given his prominence, Ps Kong could have chose to avoid the topic. Yet he still chose to post it in the e-world where it's open to praises and criticisms to the public. This is boldness. He chose to ignore the cricitisms and posted up the topic for the benefit of those who may have been struggling with this. Ps Kong has my respect.
Once again, consider this phrase 'Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things, even if it is unpopular.'
Who needs managers in this world? We need leadership.
Today there was a deliverance session at Expo. Saw the people responding and prayed for a few people. Saw the manifestations and the tears. Some need freedom, some need love, some need release, some need a touch.
It's been a while since we have had a ministering service. The presence of God was strong in service. As I prayed for people, the love of God came upon all those who needed His fatherly love. Those who are hurting, those who are feeling inadequate about themselves, those who are angry, those who are bitter....
It's a good reminder that God's love and power is still very real. His presence is still hovering around His people.
The worst feeling I reckon that one can ever have, is the feeling of no purpose in life.
Our lives are driven by purpose. When one has purpose, passion will ooze out of you to fuel it. But when there is no purpose, there is no passion, no sense of direction. A sense of uncertainty sets in. Frustration sets in. Tiredness crept into life.
You may do many things, have many activities to fill up your time. But there sense of loss, the sense of frustration and tiredness won't leave. Life becomes a shadow-boxing game. You launch your punches yet hitting nothing - no results.
Life becomes just an existence. You fall into majority with the rest of the world. Existing is life in a terrible feeling. Living a life is a wonderful feeling.
Live a life, don't exist a life. Like what I always like to say...
Today I was thinking about something that I used to say... There are three groups of people:
1) People who don't learn anything
2) People who learn something through experiencing failure themselves
3) People who learn something from other people's failures
I always think the third group of people are the smartest because they avoided the pitfalls of others. Yet, experience is something that is essential to a person's growth. It adds colour to life, enhances value in character.
I would like to say I belong to the third group. But I am not. I belong to the second group where I have to learn to take a fall, wipe off the blood, get up on my own and move again. It's the beauty of this experience that makes me a stronger person.
