Moving Into Different Territories

This year has been a rather crazy year for me. I did not expect myself to be where I am today. 9 months went pass me and many things changed.

I am moving into different territories.

I am aware that there are people out there who are talking about me and against what I am doing. They are starting to point fingers at me and the people I work with. Well, go on, guys. I don't care. Someone has to do it right?

If no one will, no one will.

God is still my main focus and the center of my life. It has been a challenging 9 months. Trying hard to be on track and to be a lighthouse in the church and outside the church. I am starting to see the other side of the world which I have only heard of before. I am starting to feel the pressure of the challenges out there. Everyone wants to be different and to make a change. But who really wants to do it? You? Me?

God is interested in sending us out like sending the sheep to a pack of wolves. But who would stay alive and who would become sheepish-wolves?

Be strong and courageous.

To be strong and courageous you need to be in a position where your strength can be tested and your courage can be shown. You can't possibly stay at your comfort zone and yell out, "Behold, I am one who is strong and courageous. Look at me!" God told his people to be strong and courageous, then he sent them out to face the enemies and God was always by their side.

I have a great passion to serve the young people and help them to rise up to their own individual calling in their life. I still have that passion and it is ever growing.

"Who shall I send?"

"Here I am, send me."

=)

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God Is Dead. And We Have Killed Him.

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?"

- Friedrich Nietzsche

He was a 19th century philosopher who boldly told the world that, "God is dead." However what he meant wasn't literally the death of God. In other words, he meant to say that the modern world no longer needed God.

How true can this be?

Everyone proclaims that they are self-made men and they are entirely in control of their lives and everything that happens to them. No one wants to report to a higher authority. The need for a Superior Being to watch over man seems to them a poetry.

Yes, God is dead. And we have killed him.

We killed him with our selfish desires and dreams. We killed him with our need to satisfy the human body. We killed him when we stood up and supported communism. We killed him when we decided that forgiveness is pure crap. We killed him when we thought that we are self-sufficient and self-sustaining. We killed him when we took full control of our own lives, not recognizing a higher power.

We killed God in so many ways.

The modern man now sees that each person has the power to do whatever he wants because he can. With that, there is no need for a God. Why the need for a God when I can study and get a job and work hard and get rich and enjoy life? Why the need for a Being who is unseen when we can enjoy all the things we can see on earth?

If these are your thoughts, then my prayers are for you.

God is Not Dead.

He lives evermore. He lives everlasting in the hearts of men and women and children who believes and acknowledges Him.

God is so big he holds the universe in his hands. Yet so small to live in our hearts.

Hard to comprehend?

The modern world thinks that God is so dead. They are wrong. A remnant of faithful soldiers are rising up. A revival is going to sweep over the nations and then the Truth will be known to all.

God is Not Dead. And so are His soldiers.

But these are only my words. Who will stand with me to prove my words? Will you?

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Made For Praise

When God made humans, he knew what to give us. One of the desires God gave to us humans is the desire to worship. We have a heart of praise and worship. We long to praise something and worship something. God gave us this desire to bow down, to extol, to lift up on high, to praise, to shout and to honor and glorify.

He also knew our temptation to squander our praises on lesser things.

That is the reason God gave us the first commandment in the Ten Commandments:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." (Exodus 20:2-5)

There wouldn't be a need for such a command if we were not prone to praise and worship. But God knew what humans were capable of. He knew if there weren't such a command, his people will look elsewhere to give their praises and worship to. God knew we would direct our praises to objects, to people, to idols and to other gods.

We roar for sports idols, wait in line to get autographs of celebrities and stars, watch red carpets and follow up on our favorite singer and actor, we pay tons of money to fly to another country to watch our favorite band performing, we look at stars in amazement and praise the beauty of the mountains and hills. We stand in awe at extraordinary mortals just like us, only "better." We rise to our feet in concerts and strain to catch a glimpse of performers on stage who stand no closer than we are to the One who made all of us.

And God knew that we would squander our praises and worships on lesser things.

So God gave us the one eternal thing that exists that can never be praise long or loudly enough, that can never get all the glory it deserves: He gave himself.

Mary moved forward to Jesus' feet and broke a jar of costly perfume. In full sight of all present, she poured the expensive and fragrant perfume over the feet of Jesus in a gesture of love, honor and worship. The whole room went silent.

As the rich fragrant filled the whole room, she knelt before the King of Kings and wiped the perfume into his feet with her hair. What she did was crazy. It was extravagant and considered an awful interruption. It may be intimate and perhaps even embarrassing to others in the room.

The object of Mary's affection had summoned her worship. She could no longer hold it anymore. She took the most valuable possession she had and gave it as a love offering to Jesus. She found no other means to show how in love she was with Jesus. Breaking the expensive jar of perfume that she probably spent her whole life saving on for Jesus was the only way she could think of to worship.

She was made for praise, and she found the One who was worthy to receive it.

Have you?

Click here for a beautiful song based on the story above - The Alabaster Jar.

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Leaving God's House In Ruins.

Haggai 1:5-6

Give careful thoughts to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.

This was what the Lord told the people of Haggai who were neglecting the house of the Lord and building their own houses instead.

While the house of God lay in ruin, the people were busy building their own houses. And all their labor were done in vain. They planted, no fruits. They ate, not full. They drank, not filled. They wore clothes, not warm. They earn, not enough. They did everything, not satisfied. They toiled, in vain. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

This account paints a symbolic picture yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Christians are more occupied building their own houses instead of God's house.

That is the reason why we are often not satisfied with our houses.

Houses here does not necessarily represents the building and four walls we live in. "Houses" can mean the selfish things we do for ourselves for our own good. It can be a career, a business, a hobby, a life. Anything.

I tremble whenever this verse comes to mind. Only tonight as I was quieting myself and reciting verses from my memory, I came upon this verse. It is as though God is reminding me of something. I have to re-evaluate my life and the things that I have been doing and am doing and will do. I have to start asking myself, "Am I building God's house or my house?"

What is the thing that we give most of our time to?

Is it our hobby? Is it our job? Is it our friends? Is it the internet? Is it something that is not productive? If it is productive, in what way? And is it for a kingdom cause? Or it is for personal gain and personal interest and everything personal? What is it?

I am not only writing this to all of you out there who are reading. I don't even know who reads my blog nowadays. But it doesn't matter. I am writing this to myself and to remind myself. What I speak to you convicts my heart more than it convicts yours.

God, help me.

Know that if whatever you do that is not significant to your faith, you are certainly wasting your time. No matter how good you are at doing what you are doing, when you are dead and gone, everything will not matter at all! Only your labor in the Lord and His work will matter and will last for eternity. You may be prospering in whatever that you are doing. Good on you, mate. God has blessed us with ability to think, to learn, to work. With that ability we can do almost anything and everything. We will definitely prosper and do well in whatever we put out mind, heart and soul into.

BUT...

No matter how much you prosper, God does not care. The only thing that matters to Him is that you gather all your strength, skills, talents, mind, heart and soul and build the house of God. And the house of God does not necessarily mean the church building. Note that.

So, back to the question.

Are you building your house while leaving God's house in ruins?

Deuteronomy 1:6

You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes because worms will eat them.

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Another Season Will Pass, And I Will Still Be As Strong, Maybe Even More.

Next week will mark the end of my 6 months holiday break =(

There are mix feelings inside me now. I am excited to start my degree course but at the same time I am missing my free time that I had been having for the past 6 months. Next week I will be starting my 3 years degree course in Psychology in HELP University, Damansara.

A lot has happened during the past 6 months. I did not know how but it happened. I got very involved in my magic hobby and it brought me further than I expected to go in such a short period of time. For the past 6 months I have been exploring different areas of magic and exploring different jobs I can get with magic. It has been a fruitful exploration so far. There has been lots of encouragements from family and friends and leaders from the church as well. I guess they know what I am doing and they are keeping me in prayers.

I am now the Resident Magician for one of Kuala Lumpur's top clubs - Zouk Club KL. I did not expect this to happen. Was just going to Zouk one afternoon with my good friend Poh Leong for interview. And after that, everything happened so fast I lost track of time haha. My stint at Zouk so far has been very memorable and enjoyable. And I have to tell you, the challenges a Christian face at those kind of areas are huge haha. Girls go there as though cloths are the top on the Extinction List. But do not worry, I know what I am doing there =)

I ask myself, if no one will, who will?

If no one will, no one will.

Gospel Magic was the main thing that inspired me to venture into the Art of Magic. And it is still my passion - to use magic to capture people's attention and then lead them to the knowledge that what they see are just illusions and the real magic happens in the hands of God. Only God can do real "magic" and He is the "IM Possible" and He is the real "Magician".

So next week begins the next chapter and season of my life. I will be meeting new friends and getting new contacts. Schedules will be changed and time will be so limited for me. I have to start using every second wisely and MAKE IT COUNT for something. I have to make everyday fruitful!

Next season will be one of further exploration in preparation for the even more challenging coming days.

I do not know where is God going to lead me. I can only plan and uphold my plans to Him, the one who is in control. I can only pray and seek the hand of God in my life.

I know that God is not through with me. He has greater plans for me. Plans to use me to impact lives one at a time, no matter how slow the process and how long it takes. Because I believe that there is more to life than this.

There is more to life than enjoying and making the most out of each day.

There is more to life than building yourself a career and empire.

There is more to life than getting rich or die trying.

There is more to life than climbing the corporate ladder.

There is more to life than everything you are doing right now.

There is!

Another season will pass, and I will still be as strong, maybe even more!

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for THOSE WHO LOVE HIM, who have been called according to His purpose.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths right.

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