Matt 5:14

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

a return to love - marianne williamson

It's amazing how Grace teaches one to want to do the right thing more. Grace does in fact develop discipline, but i reckon it does come more often than not, with a little pain.

Its like when i first learnt the guitar. I dreamt of the day where i would be able to play nice and catchy melodies and tunes just like my dad. I'd seen him do it since i was yet a kid, and it sure didn't look too hard. When the time came for me to have my go at it, it certainly was a lot harder than it looked. I spent a whole day goin at the guitar, playing one simple Chord (it's simple on hindsight). It sounded really bad and inconsistent - way off-tuned. But that wasn't even really the worst part. The hot-red blisters and hurting fingers for the next few days were simple out of this world. Now that was the WORST part!

It was at that time that i really had to decide if all this pain was worth it. I had only begun to play ONE LOUSY CHORD! How much pain would i have to endure for me to even vaguely make out a chorus?? But i'm glad i decided to go on. To persevere. So that now, i am able to play not just 1 song, but as many songs as i knew the chords for, and guess what? MY FINGERS DON'T HURT AT ALL!

I reckon...that's so much like our christian walk. There are so many things we want to do right for God - So many temptations that are thrown at us... and making the right choices always seem to hurt the most! But somehow, when we persevere and keep at it, the pain always fades till it's no more. In fact, it even becomes a joy to do!

Let's keep strumming our guitars and continue to make joyful noises unto the Lord. And He promises that He will be there to take the sting off your fingers, because we do our deeds not with our own strength but with His strength - with His hand in ours!

For all those times You stood by me
For all the truth that You made me see
For all the joy You brought to my life
For all the wrong that You made right
For every dream You made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful Jesus

You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through
Through it all

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cos You believed

I'm everything I am
Because You love me

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, You gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach

You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day You gave me

Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by You

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cos You believed

I'm everything I am
Because You love me

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining Your love into my life

You've been my inspiration
Through the lies You were the truth
My world is a better place because of You

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cos You believed

I'm everything I am
Because You love me

I'm everything I am
Because You love me

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
‘Oh excuse me please’, was my reply.
He said, ‘Please excuse me too, I wasn’t watching for you’.
We were very polite this stranger and I,
We went our way and said goodbye.

But at home, a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned I nearly knocked him down,
‘Move out of the way!’, I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken,
I didn’t realise how harshly I had spoken.

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While I lay awake in bed,
God’s still-small voice came to me and said,
‘While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the family you love, you seem to abuse.'

'Go and look in the kitchen floor,
You will find some flowers there by the door.'

'Those are the flowers he brought for you
He picked them himself - pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly, not to spoil the surprise
You never saw the tears that filled his little eyes..'

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By this time I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed,
‘Wake up little one, wake up', I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'

He smiled, ‘I found them out by the tree,
I picked them because they are pretty like you.
I knew you liked them, especially the blue.'

I said, ‘Son, I’m very sorry for the way I acted,
I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.'

He said, ‘Oh mum, that’s okay,
I still love you anyway.'

Granted that it is not a crime,
I’m not going to resist writing this post in rhymes.
Because I’m never one to dampen creativity,
God’s wisdom always blooms boundless spontaneity.

So many things to say,
Where shall I start?
From the very minor of issues,
Or right from the major part?

Alright,
Having considered all possible merits,
I shall pen this post whilst being led by the Spirit.

I reckon this will be (rather) long,
So please bear with me,
As I endeavour to avoid any form,
Of deceitfulness or duplicity.

This is firstly an open letter,
Addressed to those whose hearts are broken.
I’ll also interpose my short discourse,
With thoughts that I’ve not yet spoken.

To all ye who are nursing broken hearts,
Borne of relationships that have fallen apart:

Bask not in sorrow anymore,
I implore you, whatever for?
If you earnestly seek recovery,
Read about God’s promises for you in Matthew 5:4.

His Word declares,
That the greatest love,
Is of God & He draws from limitless reserves (Romans 8:39).

If he or she was truly meant for you,
Expect God to bless the relationship through & through.

But if in your heart of hearts,
A settled peace never did transpire (Philippians 4:7),
It’s God’s supernatural way,
Of leading you away,
From the woes that’ll cause you to suffer.

He loves you too much,
To give you up (Deuteronomy 31:8),
To a relationship destined for failure,
Right from the start.

Because you have chosen to honour God,
Your decision is with Him in one accord (1 Corinthians 8:3).

Therefore rejoice,
Because God has promised His people,
That they will be restored with double,
For all their pains & troubles (Isaiah 61:7).

Perfect timing (in view of the upcoming Lunar New Year) to share these interesting nuggets of truth. Enjoy & be blessed!


In the beginning, Man was created to be eternally blessed!

God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.

So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.

And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. - Genesis 1:26-29

Then the Lord God formed (the first) man from the [a] dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being. - Genesis 2:7

There were two trees specifically mentioned in the Bible: the Tree of Life & the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. - Genesis 2:16-17

Isn't it interesting to know that the ancient chinese associated Satan with a garden & two trees?

Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden (temptation)? - Genesis 3:1

And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate. - Genesis 3:6

Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves (fruit) together and made themselves apronlike girdles.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?

He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. - Genesis 3:7-10

What punishment did woman recieve for her sin?

To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. - Genesis 3:16

What punishment did man recieve for his sin?

And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life.

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field.

In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return. - Genesis 3:17-19

Although Man's guilt of sin separated him from fellowship with God, God provided a way for Man's relationship with Him to be restored through sacrifice (hand + spear).

Just as in the Bible, the ancient Chinese knew that the sacrifice of a lamb brought to them God's favour & righteousness (Genesis 4:4).

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! - John 1:29

Hallelujah!