Each time I think about the Cross of Jesus, I am choked with emotions. The images of the betrayal, His passion and suffering and the walk up Golgotha that bitter cold morning to His death cause tears to flow down.
How could a holy God give up His life willingly for an unworthy sinner like me? How could He - the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords - bear the stripes and scourging, wear the crown of thorns, endure the nails of pain in His hands and feet, and suffer the shame and scorn of the people around? Hebrews 12:2 tells us, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” I am completely overwhelmed.
An existential question pops into my head… what is the Cross of Jesus to me? It is the most awesome expression of love known to man. Even at that point of pain and humiliation, He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
The Cross is also the final defeat of sin and death over my life. It is the point where a divine exchange took place - of my sin with His saving grace, of my brokenness with His wholeness, of my sicknesses with His health, of my poverty with His riches, of my hopelessness with His hope! Colossians 1:20 “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven.
The next question is, what do I do with the Cross? I need to share this truth with others. I want to remember the price my Lord paid for me and Iike Paul, I will glory only in the Cross. Galatians 6: 14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
The Cross must have been difficult. It must have pained the Heavenly Father’s heart to see His Son go through it. I think no other hymn as Isaac Watt’s "When I survey the wondrous cross" so aptly sums up my sentiments. Here it is:
When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride
Forbid it Lord, that I should boast Save in the death of Christ my God All the vain things that charm me most I sacrifice them to His blood
See, from His head, His hands, His feet Sorrow and love flow mingled down Did e'er such love and sorrow meet Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine That were an offering far too small Love so amazing, so divine Demands my soul, my life, my all
I had just returned from an evening walk with my family at the reservoir. The night sky was almost cloudless and we could see the Orion with the belt of Hunter clearly. The constellation seemed larger tonight and was almost directly over our heads. I tried to explain to Noah about Hunter's belt, but he was more interested in sitting on the ledge next to the water. The contrast was stark, yet beautiful, a young toddler just turned three, under a magnificent age old constellation which has existed since the start of creation.
Our God delights in contrasts. Was it not God who chose a shepherd boy as a king? Was it not a manger that the Saviour of the world was born in? Was it not Jesus who used the little lunch of a selfless boy to feed a multitude of hungry adults? And who can forget the contrasting beatitudes that were taught at the Sermon on the Mount?
But the greatest contrast must surely the fact that our Lord, God's Son, had to die on the cross so that we might live. And the contrast does not end there otherwise the Bible would end with the cruxification. Because of His obedience unto death, Jesus was raised again and overcame the sting of death so that all of us who believed in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. We have passed over from death to life and have escaped the curse of the law to enter into the blessings of Abraham.
Again the contrasts continue. Jesus, before he died, said that we are to be in the world, but not of the world (Jn 17:14-18). Paul commanded in Romans that we are not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rm 12:1-2).
As Easter approaches, let us take time to rejoice in the God who delights in contrasts and whose foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom, and whose weakness is stronger than man's strength (1 Co 1:25). Then let us remember that our only appropriate response to this magnificent God is to live in contrast to a fallen world, so that we can shine like the stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life (Php 2:14).
Questions and thoughts to ponder:
1) Do the people that God has placed in my life know that I am a Christian?
2) If not, why?
3) If they do, am I living up to Jesus' command to be the salt and light of the earth?
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for being a God who delights in surprises and contrasts. Thank you especially that your ways and thoughts are so far above ours. Thank you that because what Jesus has done, I am free from the bondage of this world and from the power of sin. Help me to understand what it means to live a life for you. Grant me the grace and strength by your Holy Spirit, not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to have my mind continually being renewed by your Word, that I can then live as the salt and light of this world. In Jesus name, Amen.
Greetings, Had opportunity to browse through Henson Lim's audio messages at the camp last year and I like to make a serious note about the audible silence of the audience upon the time he started mentioning the stark truth about deception that even believers will be subject to (if they are not alert, or refuse/reject the their obligations to hearing the Word), and I wonder how that barrage of messages from the camp will have shaken up the laisse-faire mentality in much of the congregation in their lives after hearing such a message.
"Yes, some children are more privileged than others but they are all children and they played the Game of Life with such competitive spirit and joy. We had kids who got hurt or fell sick but insisted on continuing. Some cried - because they could not play as intensely as they wanted to. This game was so precious to them as if they have never really played before. Their enthusiasm made me feel ten years younger!
'And there were special children. Not because it is a politically-correct term to use; they are REALLY special to God. One child who was afraid of the dark all his life, slept over the second night and played a role in the skit the next day that surprised his Mom! Blessed are the meek; Matt 5:5. A preschooler connected his view from the Flyer with Jesus' 3rd temptation by the Devil. Blessed are the pure in heart; Matt 5:8. One child, known for his low self-esteem, implored me to to finish a video on how kids dealt with temptations. Blessed are the poor in spirit; Matt 5:3...."
Amos Lim shares what he learnt during the TRACkers course organised by TRAC-MCS:
"One teaching that still lingers in my head is "What do you want to be remembered as?" We were told to make our own epitaphs. That really made me think about how much I have done in the world and for the world, and whether I would be remembered by them? I came to realise that what I really wanted was not so much to be remembered as someone great in the eyes of the world, but rather as one who really lived up to the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission...."
Pang Da Ye was one of the three youths who went through the TRACkers course organised by TRAC-MCS. He shares his experience here:
"I used to feel very inadequate in TRACkers. I am a very young Christian, while most of the others seem to be so much more mature, with much better knowledge of the Bible than me. I also used to doubt if I would be able to do much for God, as I am such a young Christian.
But I have learnt that it is not about how much we know, or how good we are - it's the attitude of our heart that counts. What's important is whether we are willing to give all that we have into learning and serving Him. God knows our strength and weaknesses, and He will know how to use us. If we are willing to give Him all we have, He will use us and multiply what we have...."
From 11-22 Feb 2008, three of our youths took part in a mission trip to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, which was a culmination of the TRACkers 2008 course organized by TRAC-MCS. Ong Boon Teck shares what he learnt during the trip:
"That night, we had our first chapel service at the childcare orphanage. The children at the orphanage are so different from the children in Singapore. You can just feel how much they love God.
It's the childlike faith and the genuine and sincere love that touched me. It really reminded me how to live a life pleasing to God's eye: It's not about how much Bible knowledge we have; it's about how much time we spend with God our heavenly Father, and having a closer walk with Him...."
"One of these classmates, Daniel, became my best friend and confidant. We would attend the Christian Fellowship meetings together, and would meet every morning before school to pray together for about half an hour, on the steps of the old Barker Road Methodist Church. We went cycling together and walked around town together. We spent hours talking to each other, and would exchange our diaries with each other after we had written our deepest thoughts into them. We shared everything with each other - our troubles and heartaches, the girls we liked, our insights into life, our struggles with God, Bible verses which had spoken to us. We were like Jonathan and David. Needless to say, that was one of the greatest periods of personal and spiritual growth in my life...."
"This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ." - Frank McKibben
Christmas is not about the commercialised spirit of sharing and giving. It is about God and Love, because God is Love (really, they are inseparable!).
That is why it is called Christmas Christ before everything else. And Christ is Love. God is Love. Everything goes back to God. Everything centres on God. What really matters this season is not that "I Want thus I Hope to Get" feeling.
What really matters is this on Jesus birthday, are we doing the things that He wants us to do?
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 1:22
Written by Ms Seah Swee Khee Brenda, on 25-12-2007
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him "Immanuel" which means, 'God with us'." - Matthew 1:23
Christmas marks an important step in the fulfillment of Gods plan of redemption for us. Jesus' name itself means, The LORD saves. That describes his mission plainly - to save us from our sins. But there is another name associated with Him, that is, "Immanuel". This name explains the awe I feel when I think about Christmas seriously.
I still recall the time when the idea of integrated worship was just that. An idea. And as I look at where we are now, and where we were then, we've certainly come a long way, solely by the grace of God.
Nonetheless, it was not exactly a smooth ride to get towards what would eventually become a reality which had immense potential of bringing the church closer together. To turn integrated worship from an idea to something which would work for the church as a whole required a lot of prayer and effort, as it involved significant change.
Tammie will tell you that one of my favourite fruits is the blueberry.
It is smaller than a cherry and is dark blue in colour. Certainly, it does not have the kind of appearance that is particularly eyecatching like the strawberry, orange or durian. Even the taste of this little fruit is very unassuming, almost tasteless.
Despite all its subtle physical properties described so far, this little fella has one of the highest antioxidant properties of all fruits. Oxidation, as we know it today, is a damaging process that is believed to be responsible for many diseases like cancer, heart disease and even diabetes. Taking foods high in anti-oxidants, like fruits and vegetables, help our bodies combat this process.
It was a quiet Chinese New Year's eve. I was cycling along the Kallang River when I came across these two men feasting on Tiger beer and canned food (fried dace - a type of fish - and stewed pork), on one of the picnic benches lining the river. I stopped and asked to take a picture, they obliged and invited me to join them. I did.
Norman Lobsenz described in Family Weekly almost thirty years ago an incident during his childhood that he remembered vividly:
Some years ago, when my young wife became desperately ill, I wondered how I would be able to cope with the physical and emotional burdens of caring for her.
One night, when I was drained of strength and endurance, a long forgotten incident came to mind. I was about ten years old at the time, and my mother was seriously ill. I had got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water. As I passed my parents' bedroom, I saw the lights on. I looked inside. My father was sitting in a chair in his bathrobe next to Mother's bed, doing nothing. She was asleep. I rushed into the room.
"What's wrong" I cried. "Why aren't you asleep?" Dad soothed me. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just watching over her."
I cannot say exactly how, but the memory of that long-ago incident gave me the strength to take up my own burden again.
In the intervening years since God made a way for me to attend Law School to the day I left the legal practice, I have heard my fair share of lawyer jokes: some cute, some witty, mostly disparaging.
The oldest profession
My favourite has got to be the one where some professionals discussed which of their profession were the oldest in all creation: "A doctor, an engineer, a botanist and a lawyer were fellowshipping together one day, when the question of what is the oldest profession in all of creation came up.
Without hesitation, the doctor quipped, "God formed woman out of man's rib during the creation week. That was the first surgery ever and proof that the practice of medicine is the oldest profession!".
"Not quiteˇ!" interrupted the botanist, who proceeded to recount how God had, prior to Adam's rib surgery, created the plants and trees and all things green.
"Ahˇ but the earth was formless and God created order from chaos and organized everything!" beamed the engineer excitedly. "Mine is the oldest profession in all of creation!"
The lawyer sat up and said, with a smirk: "That's where you are wrong! Who do you think created the chaos??" "
Thoughts 
