How bad it is to be falsely accused...

Managed to catch an episode of the show "难兄难弟" on Thursday over dinner.

In that episode, the main character Youquan (Christopher Lee) was being maligned by his buddy who stole business from their company, but covered his tracks by telling the bosses stories and making it look as if it was Youquan who was doing all these wrongs.

At that moment, I wondered - how terrible it is to be maligned, misunderstood and blamed for something that you did not do! Your entire reputation, your testimony, your character is all being called into question. Guilty until being proven innocent. Unforgiven.

What was equally bad was that the lady Youquan liked (Ruyi) also believed in these lies being told abt. So she too doubted him, but he never quite had the chance to explain himself. Instead of trying to defend, all he could say in his frustration was "why don't you check the truth first before accusing me?"

Isn't it the same for Christ when he took the blame and died on the cross? In His meekness He accepted all these pain, accusations, because He loved us. I am thankful that I have not been falsely accused of anything. And may God's protection ever be around me that I will not be put to shame!

这是一片在一个月前所写的稿，但一直不愿意公房。如今，我想也无妨。
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摄氏42度，无情的太阳照着干旱的夏天。心中是多么的其待雨。

人在中东，担心却留在新加坡。 我曾以为最大的距离是那分离6000公里印度洋。但现在才知道最难越过的是围绕着人心里那无形，冷漠的墙壁。

曾经在某人心中的花园种下一颗种子，也不惜一切的爱护栽培它。但有了那道墙，我已无法继续当那花园的园丁。在长期忽略和没有下雨的情况下，不知道那颗种子是否还有生存的力量？那瓶未喝完的白酒，还有机会再次一同享用吗？

在我心里的疑团仍然存在着 - 我和他之间，究竟发生了设么事? 她是否前早已作了决定，而被委托传话的朋友却是因为过于忙碌而忘了传呢？我不知道。 我真的不想放弃，只能继续的期待。但对她而言，这一切可能已经成为被反锁的过去了。如果她的冷漠代表着拒绝，那我只能默默的接受。但我深感遗憾这结局。两个人的生命似乎变成了平行线。

她坚决的冷漠似乎否定了我的自我价值。过去的几个月，我天天背着沮丧的心情上班。失去了信心，觉得自己很可怜，很不配。我也变得冷漠，几乎不愿意与异性朋友单独交谈。得确，爱得越深，伤得越痛。

在追求爱情当中，没有对或错之分。我在这几个月经历了许多。也有美好的回忆。了解了真正爱一个人所愿意付出的感觉，也体会了爱的力量。

A bigger bottle of coke

I came across a simple video skit that spoke of the coveteousness of our hearts. In the video, Jesus was giving two people gifts. At first the lady was grateful for her small can of coke... but when she saw the guy's 500ml bottle being a bigger gift, she started to envy...

"You always give everyone else more than you give me!"
"That's what I want... go get it for me!"
"Isn't that just great? Why are you holding back your best from me?"

Ugly words that proceeded from her mouth showing coveteousness, comparison, one's own plans, etc. But pause.... how often do I also say things like that to God?

In the play, Jesus told her "You're letting everyone's gifts steal your joy... " Isn't it true how easy it is for one to be ungrateful and start complaining? Even if life is a mad rush, take time to pause. Do I still hear that still small voice?

I do.

Believer's Priesthood

I wondered if I should go to the worship teach in, especially with a piece of work hanging on my head. But I chose to go, and was tremendously blessed. It was a moving message by Pastor Jason about the believer's priesthood.

Our identity is in Christ - we are called to be princes and priests - a royal priesthood. Of course, there are duties of priests, one of which was to offer sacrifice and atonement. In those days, what is it the high priest did that he can enter into the Holy of Holies? He acted more righteous than others? No. Even he had to burn incense until the smoke filled the air, before he dared to enter. That is his attempt to cover the nakedness of the skin, which symbolised sin.

Often I busy myself with activities, seeking out what I should do in line with God's will, how can I serve him where I am. But that itself sometimes brings frustrations as the path forward is clouded and unclear. But God called us not to be human doings, but human beings. He desires devotion before service; obedience before sacrifice. Works are important, but it is not what we do that defines who we are. How true the often quipped saying "We can be ministers in the house of the Lord, but not meet the Lord of the house."

So what is the heart of worship? Matt Redman was once asked by his pastor to not use musical instruments for his worship the next day. He struggled with it, but from this struggle birthed these words:

"When the music fades, and all is stripped away
and I simply come
Longing just to bring, something that's of worth
that will bless your heart...

... I'm coming back to the heart of worship
and it's all about you, it's all about you Jesus"

How sweet are the words in Psalms 23 that says "You annoint my head with oil, my cup over flows." God is able to bless us so much!

Bless me Lord... I want to be restored. I want to be forgiven. I want to clean dust off my altar of worship and once again render praise.

Experiment...

Just before leaving Dubai, I decided to do something that I always wanted to test - whether it is hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk in Dubai.

If only I can upload the photo evidence...

Conclusion... you can't fry an egg on the sidewalk, even if the air temperature is 42 deg celsius! It didn't work... but the experiment got me late for a case team meeting which we all were promptly scolded by the manager!

Still... worth finding out right? ;-)

Today at service SP Dan Foo repeated his message from the YA Camp about God giving wisdom in decision making. His example was about relationships.

(To the ladies) God will give wisdom for you whether to choose "Richard or Robert". Then I turned to Daniel and asked "so what happened to Ricardo?" We burst out laughing :)

In the afternoon I received an sms from SY asking to meet up. I guess its finally time for the day of reckoning... it has been 2 months?

I once looked with hope at the door in church which had this message "Don't give up on that which can still be redeemed". But not giving up is one thing; by far the harder thing is accepting the outcome. Adapting from Reinhold Niebuhr's quote, "God, give me the grace to accept with serenity the things which I cannot change..."

The wedding...

I've been inspired by Aaron and Cynthia's upcoming wedding to write a brief parable about the wedding. It isn't perfect, but well, here goes...

Like a wedding, the preparation to the flight has so much ground work to be done. Fixing the flight schedule, getting the right authorizations from airport authorities, getting the passenger manifest and seating arrangements ready. Along the way, you have the ground staff and cabin crew to help run the checklists and ensure that everything goes as planned.

Finally, you come to the day where the flight is scheduled. Everything goes as planned at the airport - the passengers arrive and are seated... cabin crew ready the cabin for take off. You find yourself positioned at the start of the runway.

Then you exchange the vows and in that magical moment, you have... lift off.

From then onwards, it is the you, the groom and bride who are the pilot and co-pilot, who must together ensure that the plane keeps flying safely through the journey of life. The plane symbolises the marriage, fueled by love, and held up by hand of God.

When you're tired, your co-pilot will support you to take over the helm; and when she's tired, you'll be there too. The journey is not always smooth - you may encounter turbulences along the way. But keep the faith that the plane will reach its final destination safely - the kingdom of God. And yes, you'll always have the cabin crew (our band of brothers and charlie's angels) who stick through with you along the way.

祝福你们 :)