Joel talks irony in his message on this webbie:
"I don't know about you.. but if our generation is remembered for ipods, myspace, and youtube we missed it.. if history speaks of our generation as self indulgent pioneers of the digital age, reality television and purpose built celebrity we'll have failed.. the world will change by itself.. for better or for worse.. it changes daily.. but who will be the ones to shape it.. and how will it look?
in and of itself revolution is neither good or bad.. revolution represents change.. a shift in culture.. History is marked by revolutions.. social and political.. some have represented victory, freedom and justice, however on the flip-side.. too many have become infamous representations of despair, oppression and injustice.. all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.. for the church – the hands and feet of Jesus and His plan for the salvation of this big, broken sphere of dirt, water and life we temporarily call home, this has never sounded with more urgency..
it's time for a revolution.. fuelled by a dissatisfaction with self-centred living and complacent faith.. driven by a desire for truth, love and justice..that's what this is all about…
every generation needs a revolution.. and this one needs to look, sound, walk and breathe like love..
Love God.. love people.. that's it.. that's the revolution.. revolutionary I know.. but if we understand what that means.. if we get it.. if we establish in our thinking how that looks.. and we start living it.. we will change the world.. it's not so much about the big stuff.. it's just about the stuff.. it's about the people in the places being the answer - in the places.. and together; becoming the answer to the big stuff.. it's about your backyard.. it's about my backyard..
it's the fundamental call of what it means to be a follower of Christ.. "
to stop to think, and really wonder what if our only lifetime, starts and ends just here on earth. and after that, non-existence. what would i live for? what would i love and fight for?
a hard fact states that, many people do take this literally, and that's all they know. another hard fact is that this world is lead by many of these people. and in the very VERY near future, US. the ones with the ipods plugged in our ears, the latest Sony 5510i in our hands and laptops on our laps since we were born. how would these kind of walking and talking gadjets shape this world??
as mentioned above. we NEEED a Revolution. badly. History is marked by revolution. social..political.. all have brought out what people, communities and countries are today. and those that have lead to infamous representations of despair, oppression and injustice, all it took is for evil to prosper and for good men to do nothing.
good men? so much for them. but look at ourselves. what do we consider ourselves? and what are the results of our action or inaction so far? as far as we have come? this is to consider.
deep down, i have made a commitment to be a part of this revolution. to be God's answer in my place for the people i can and touch. and make sure that it looks, sounds, walks and breathes like love. God's very own love.
i also consider myself a disciple. that means i have to look, sound, walk and breathe like one. sounds like an uphill crawl or upstream paddling? then, that's what grace is for. and THAT's whats so amazing about it. it not only pulls you through, it causes you to reach those heights you never ever dreamed of.
haha
the bible says that its enough for us and that our Father's strength would be made perfect in our weaknesses.
This very heart You have shaped for Your pleasure, purposed to life Your name high. I thank You dear, dear Lord.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Things are MORE than meets the eye. Really.
Deep awesome solid stuff again from Ransomed Heart.. here goes..
We live in two worlds—or better, in one world with two parts, one part that we can see and one part that we cannot. We are urged, for our own welfare, to act as though the unseen world (the rest of reality) is, in fact, more weighty and more real and more dangerous than the part of reality we can see. The lesson from the story of the Emmaus Road—the lesson the whole Bible is trying to get across—begins with this simple truth: There is more going on here than meets the eye. Far more.
(Waking the Dead , 26–27, 29)
We live in two worlds—or better, in one world with two parts, one part that we can see and one part that we cannot. We are urged, for our own welfare, to act as though the unseen world (the rest of reality) is, in fact, more weighty and more real and more dangerous than the part of reality we can see. The lesson from the story of the Emmaus Road—the lesson the whole Bible is trying to get across—begins with this simple truth: There is more going on here than meets the eye. Far more.
(Waking the Dead , 26–27, 29)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Whats been going on recently... Part 1
hey all.. too much has been going on in these pass few weeks and months.. so heres some of my goofy photos to laught at. just for gags =P *ofcoz not all are for gags.. but all photos share 1 thing in common- all are taken with the people i love the most. Love you all!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Goofy and Friends
The senario: Apparently michi is 'dead'. Calvin is checking the pulse and confirming the 'death'. Meiling, connie, colleen and moni are the morners. meiling is showing some sadness but connie is apparently laughing and very happy at my 'death'. moni is fanning me in hopes that i will wake up.. ray the photographer is having fun watching the disaster.
then,meiling put the sweaty cloth over my face. then suddenly michi swings the cloth away. watt? shes alive again! ahah the the wrold rejoices...
God be THE solution!!
woww the last time i posted about GOD BE THE SOLUTION is in september 2007...
this song had been speaking to me and changing whatever perspective i had about ministry... the lyrics speak for itself.. this has thrown me forward into what i am doing right now. I;ve learn that ultimately, ministry is ALL about loving God and loving people.. its impossible to worship God without carrying out His love and will- to love people and to see justice on earth as what it is exactly like in heaven right now.
V:
it is NOT a human right to stand and not fight
while broken nations dream
open up our eyes so blind that we might find the mercy for the need
singing' hey now
fill our hearts with Your compassion
as we hold to our confession..
it is not too far a cry too much to try
to help the least of these
politics will NOT decide if we should rise
to be Your hands and feet
higher than all circumstance Your promise stands
Your love for all to see
higher than ALL protest lines and Dollar signs
Your love is all we need..
C:
woaaahh God be the solution!
woaaahh we will be Your hands and be Your feet!
B:
We will be Your hands, we will be Your feet
We will run this race for the least of these!
in the DARKEST place we will be Your LIGHT!
christians reading this blog, i encourage you now and will KEEP ON DOING IT..the disasters in the world are as REAL as raw meat. the hurts and torments others went through and are still going through are real. the earth is too broken for us to be still standing in our comfortable 'my zone', wishing for WOrld Peace. our sitting and hoping for it will never bring it any closer to reality. Lets all be good hands and good feet for God towards our own fellow human beings- which are emotional beings just like us.
Lets get OUT there, let God be the solution in those people's lives. but you have to get OUT there 1st. Or you can stay inside and share Christ's death and resurrection to your pet turtle. Like i did a long time ago. LEtting Jesus touch lives through you is wayyy fun!! Its not just fun, its an adrenaline rush..!! Once you start, there's no such things as getting enough of it. Just like there's no such thing as loving a person too much.. We will go together!
YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!
this song had been speaking to me and changing whatever perspective i had about ministry... the lyrics speak for itself.. this has thrown me forward into what i am doing right now. I;ve learn that ultimately, ministry is ALL about loving God and loving people.. its impossible to worship God without carrying out His love and will- to love people and to see justice on earth as what it is exactly like in heaven right now.
V:
it is NOT a human right to stand and not fight
while broken nations dream
open up our eyes so blind that we might find the mercy for the need
singing' hey now
fill our hearts with Your compassion
as we hold to our confession..
it is not too far a cry too much to try
to help the least of these
politics will NOT decide if we should rise
to be Your hands and feet
higher than all circumstance Your promise stands
Your love for all to see
higher than ALL protest lines and Dollar signs
Your love is all we need..
C:
woaaahh God be the solution!
woaaahh we will be Your hands and be Your feet!
B:
We will be Your hands, we will be Your feet
We will run this race for the least of these!
in the DARKEST place we will be Your LIGHT!
christians reading this blog, i encourage you now and will KEEP ON DOING IT..the disasters in the world are as REAL as raw meat. the hurts and torments others went through and are still going through are real. the earth is too broken for us to be still standing in our comfortable 'my zone', wishing for WOrld Peace. our sitting and hoping for it will never bring it any closer to reality. Lets all be good hands and good feet for God towards our own fellow human beings- which are emotional beings just like us.
Lets get OUT there, let God be the solution in those people's lives. but you have to get OUT there 1st. Or you can stay inside and share Christ's death and resurrection to your pet turtle. Like i did a long time ago. LEtting Jesus touch lives through you is wayyy fun!! Its not just fun, its an adrenaline rush..!! Once you start, there's no such things as getting enough of it. Just like there's no such thing as loving a person too much.. We will go together!
YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Always Enough
This book tells the story of Rolland & Heidi Baker's remarkable ministry amongst the poor in Mozambique. After briefly covering the story of how they met and married, and their missionary work prior to Mozambique, the story quickly moves on to focusing on how they started reaching out to the poor with practical help and the gospel.
The story covers about six years from 1995 to 2001, which includes the devastating flooding of 2000.A number of features stood out for me in this book.
First, though they are working in one of the bleakest situations in the world, the book is anything but depressing and melancholic. Even when reporting the most tragic situations, they speak of the joy of seeing what Jesus was doing in the lives of the people there.
Second, while they report many amazing miracles, there is no romanticising or glamourising of their work. They are honest about setbacks and difficulties in the midst of amazing reviving work of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the book presents a passionate call to its readers to lay their lives down to serve the poor and needy without ever resorting to guilt manipulation, emotional blackmail or condemnation. Rolland & Heidi have an incredible capacity to love the most broken and needy people, and it seems to me to stem from an equally passionate love for Jesus. They are not living for this world. The challenge comes from realising that we need our own love for the Lord to increase so that he might change our hearts to love others more, and become less attached to the passing material possessions of this life.
Fourth, though both Rolland & Heidi are highly qualified in theology, it is clear that they devoted to simply presenting the gospel. This is not a book trying to prove that God is blessing them because they have got all the fine details of eschatology and eccleisolgy worked out. Their humility in this regard is striking. The book starts with Rolland saying that he wanted to believe and live the Sermon on the Mount - if Jesus says we can trust him without worrying about tomorrow then we can. You can see this worked out practically in the rest of the story, as they preach the gospel of trusting Jesus to these people who are poor financially and poor in Spirit.If the book has a weakness, it is that the story is not always filled in in as much detail as I would have liked. Some chapters are written by Rolland and some by Heidi, and they include diary entries. There are lots of little details that fill in interesting aspects to life in Mozambique, but in some places I felt there were gaps in the story.
In one chapter, they tell of a vision one of the children had. It was of Jesus saying that he was coming again, sooner than they expected. But he also said that feast was prepared but the church was not ready. They needed to wake up. The poor had not yet been invited to the feast. This is the heart-cry of this book. The poor must be invited to the feast. Heidi says, "we should stop every single time for each person". I can recommend this book as one that will inspire you, encourage you, and call you back to a first love for Jesus and a love for the lost.
Posted by Mark Heath on 19/08/2006 in Book Reviews.
*This is nt my review of the book.. just wanted it here for myself, and many others whom i encourage to read.. iv yet to buy my own..
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
To all beautiful girls and women, this is A Beauty Worth Persuing!
I cant get enough of John Eldridge..seriously.. seriusly serious. Well this article talks about beauty being persued.. caught my attension the very 1st time i read it in Captivating.. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book.. especially to all girls.. AND guys. BEAUTY BEAUTY AND MORE BEAUTY..hahah.. prepare your heart for this..>
The desire to be beautiful is an ageless longing.
Beauty has been extolled and worshiped and kept just out of reach for most of us. (Do you like having your picture taken? Do you like seeing those pictures later? How do you feel when people ask you your age? This issue of beauty runs deep!)
For others, beauty has been shamed, used, and abused. Some of you have learned that possessing beauty can be dangerous. And yet—and this is just astounding—in spite of all the pain and distress that beauty has caused us as women, the desire remains. And it’s not just the desire for an outward beauty, but more—a desire to be captivating in the depths of who you are.
Cinderella is beautiful, yes, but she is also good. Her outward beauty would be hollow were it not for the beauty of her heart. That’s why we love her. In The Sound of Music, the Countess has Maria beat in the looks department, and they both know it. But Maria has a rare and beautiful depth of spirit. She has the capacity to love whiskers on kittens and mean-spirited children. She sees the handiwork of God in music and laughter and climbing trees. Her soul is Alive. And we are drawn to her. Ruth may have been a lovely, strong woman, but it is to her unrelenting courage and vulnerability and faith in God that Boaz is drawn. Esther is the most beautiful woman in the land, but it is her bravery and her cunning, good heart that moves the king to spare her people. This isn’t about dresses and makeup . . . Don’t you recognize that a woman yearns to be seen and to be thought of as captivating?
We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil.
(Captivating , 16–17)
The desire to be beautiful is an ageless longing.
Beauty has been extolled and worshiped and kept just out of reach for most of us. (Do you like having your picture taken? Do you like seeing those pictures later? How do you feel when people ask you your age? This issue of beauty runs deep!)
For others, beauty has been shamed, used, and abused. Some of you have learned that possessing beauty can be dangerous. And yet—and this is just astounding—in spite of all the pain and distress that beauty has caused us as women, the desire remains. And it’s not just the desire for an outward beauty, but more—a desire to be captivating in the depths of who you are.
Cinderella is beautiful, yes, but she is also good. Her outward beauty would be hollow were it not for the beauty of her heart. That’s why we love her. In The Sound of Music, the Countess has Maria beat in the looks department, and they both know it. But Maria has a rare and beautiful depth of spirit. She has the capacity to love whiskers on kittens and mean-spirited children. She sees the handiwork of God in music and laughter and climbing trees. Her soul is Alive. And we are drawn to her. Ruth may have been a lovely, strong woman, but it is to her unrelenting courage and vulnerability and faith in God that Boaz is drawn. Esther is the most beautiful woman in the land, but it is her bravery and her cunning, good heart that moves the king to spare her people. This isn’t about dresses and makeup . . . Don’t you recognize that a woman yearns to be seen and to be thought of as captivating?
We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil.
(Captivating , 16–17)
Can it get any true-er?
By the grace of God, we cannot quite pull it off. In the quiet moments of the day we sense a nagging within, a discontentment, a hunger for something else. But because we have not solved the riddle of our existence, we assume that something is wrong—not with life, but with us. Everyone else seems to be getting on with things. What’s wrong with me? We feel guilty about our chronic disappointment. Why can’t I just learn to be happier in my job, in my marriage, in my church, in my group of friends?
You see, even while we are doing other things, “getting on with life,” we still have an eye out for the life we secretly want. When someone seems to have gotten it together, we wonder, How did he do it? Maybe if we read the same book, spent time with him, went to his church, things would come together for us as well. You see, we can never entirely give up our quest.
Gerald May reminds us, When the desire is too much to bear, we often bury it beneath frenzied thoughts and activities or escape it by dulling our immediate consciousness of living. It is possible to run away from the desire for years, even decades, at a time, but we cannot eradicate it entirely. It keeps touching us in little glimpses and hints in our dreams, our hopes, our unguarded moments. (The Awakened Heart) He says that even though we sleep, our desire does not. “It is who we are.” We are desire. It is the essence of the human soul, the secret of our existence. Absolutely nothing of human greatness is ever accomplished without it. Desire fuels our search for the life we prize. The same old thing is not enough. It never will be.
(The Journey of Desire , 10–11) John Eldridge
These few weeks have been perculiarly busy, so much so I almost forget what i had been doing at the end of the day. At the end of the week, lagi cannot remember.. Just found myself going on and on and on and on. Then at one point i stopped and decided to decline a meeting i had to attend. Because I realized that i had mixed up my priorities at that very moment.
I thought ' I need and desire something more than this to hold on to..something of eternal value'. Even though i was doing all sorts of things, my main desire was left untended. I neeeed to be out there sharing and talking about the good news.. more than anything else..Coz 'it kept touching me in mt dreams and unguarded moments'.. goshhh i need more.. more of God..more miracles.. more to life..
You see, even while we are doing other things, “getting on with life,” we still have an eye out for the life we secretly want. When someone seems to have gotten it together, we wonder, How did he do it? Maybe if we read the same book, spent time with him, went to his church, things would come together for us as well. You see, we can never entirely give up our quest.
Gerald May reminds us, When the desire is too much to bear, we often bury it beneath frenzied thoughts and activities or escape it by dulling our immediate consciousness of living. It is possible to run away from the desire for years, even decades, at a time, but we cannot eradicate it entirely. It keeps touching us in little glimpses and hints in our dreams, our hopes, our unguarded moments. (The Awakened Heart) He says that even though we sleep, our desire does not. “It is who we are.” We are desire. It is the essence of the human soul, the secret of our existence. Absolutely nothing of human greatness is ever accomplished without it. Desire fuels our search for the life we prize. The same old thing is not enough. It never will be.
(The Journey of Desire , 10–11) John Eldridge
These few weeks have been perculiarly busy, so much so I almost forget what i had been doing at the end of the day. At the end of the week, lagi cannot remember.. Just found myself going on and on and on and on. Then at one point i stopped and decided to decline a meeting i had to attend. Because I realized that i had mixed up my priorities at that very moment.
I thought ' I need and desire something more than this to hold on to..something of eternal value'. Even though i was doing all sorts of things, my main desire was left untended. I neeeed to be out there sharing and talking about the good news.. more than anything else..Coz 'it kept touching me in mt dreams and unguarded moments'.. goshhh i need more.. more of God..more miracles.. more to life..
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