o v e r f l u o

I was reading this book which referenced the woman at the well from the Bible and it said she found Jesus, or rather He found her.  Now I'm not one to think too deeply about eh intricacies and theology or Calvinism or any of that, but when I read that I though, wow – in the midst of all people Jesus found her. In the middle of a crowd He found her, specifically her. It means she must have been special, she must have stood out somehow, there must have been something for Jesus to have found her.  And what a joy and delight, to be found by Jesus. 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Nothing like a funeral to remind you of the transience of life, of the meaning of life, of what more there is to life.

I get it now. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth But also, Remember your Creator of  the days of your youth I am bringing myself back to when I was 15. When it took years of trying before I finally read the Bible daily and desired for it and it filled me and it satisfied me and it gave me joy and there was overflow.

Life can be tough but it is so much sweeter when you know the story behind each individual. The more you know, the more you can love because you can only love what you know. That's why they say the greatest is to know and be known. Because then you can more deeply and thoroughly love and be loved. Art by Ken Done

Many people are trying to find their calling.   But that doesn't explain Marianne Money, bank manager, or Jim Kardwell, who owns a card company. Or Thomas Duck who started Ugly Duckling rent-a-car and Tito Beveridge who makes vodka. It doesn't explain why people named Dennis are more likely to become dentists...   I'm not sure that anyone has a calling. I think, instead, our culture creates situations where passionate people find a place where they can make an impact. When what you do is something that you make important, it doesn't matter so much what you do.   It's not that important where. It matters a lot how . With passion and care. — Seth Godin  Calling. Is there such thing as a "calling" – a person's ultimate purpose in life? The thing they were "meant" to do? I believe there's such a thing as "calling" for some. I also think sometimes we get too caught up in "finding our calling" that we don'...

"From the very beginning of my career, I was frightened – I still am – that I would do something to dishonor the Lord." –Time Magazine, 1988 On what God expects of us: "If you fail to use each day's deposits, you cannot have overdrafts. Your only choice is to use it or lose it. The Lord expects us to use what we have whether money, time or talent." –At Palm Beach Atlantic College, 1997 "Sometimes judgement is strange and sudden. There's an escape. There's a way out. It's so easy. God didn't say, 'Do great things.' He said, 'Repent and believe.'" –The Charlotte Observer, 1996 "Everyone is trying to find peace and happiness, and many times in the wrong place. There's a man in the Bible who was the richest man. The sexiest man. And the most powerful man in his generation... His name was Solomon. He decided he was going to find every pleasure there is... But at the end of it all he said, 'I haven...

7 years ago I bought the book Ask Billy Graham: The World's Best-Loved Preacher Answers Your Most Important Questions , compiled by Bill Adler. To me, "Billy Graham" was a famous name and a well-known Christian and evangelist who held massive crusades and saw many come to Christ. He has been voted one of Gallup's Top Ten Most Respected Americans 50 times, consulted and prayed with presidents and other world leaders, spoken to 215 million people at his crusades and well, you can read more here . When I first read the book, I wrote this note which I stuck in it: The basic of the quotes are: • The human heart never changes • Only God can bring change • God loves you  Billy Graham always chooses to talk about Jesus. He is wise in his answers. He chooses not to answer some. He doesn't criticise, in general, except where it matters, showing love. He has hope. He firmly, surely believes in the power of the Gospel for everyone who believes. I recently pick...

We often talk about Mary choosing to do the one important thing, but do we notice that it was Martha  who invited Jesus in the first place? Martha was the one who invited Jesus; Mary was the one listening at Jesus' feet. Are we like Martha sometimes? We invite Jesus into our home then leave Him be, not attending or listening. We leave Him so close, in our home, while He watches us busy ourselves. It is a wonder that He doesn't leave. But must He not sigh, think we are rude, and feel lonely? We must not stop at saying, please come in . If we are to invite Him in, we must then take responsibility. We must treat Him as a valued guest, as family – taking the best of Martha and Mary – and make Him feel at home with us.

What goes in doesn't make me unclean but what comes out does. I am a filter. I must filter what I consume – what I see, hear, feel – and only let out what is good and pleasing. Thoughts from Matthew 15.

"Is it making things with our hands out of wood or stone, or paint, or canvas? Or is it making something we hope like truth out of words? Or is it making people laugh or weep in a way that cleanses their spirit?   I believe that if it is a thing that truly makes us glad then it is a good thing and it is our thing and it is the calling voice that we were made to answer with our lives." – Fredrick Beuchner

Matthew 4:17 From 2000+ years ago, Jesus was already preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near". Was he saying that the kingdom was near, therefore we should repent? Or was He saying that our repentance will bring the kingdom nearer? "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is on heaven" is brought as repentance is chosen. Matthew 4:18-22 Jesus calls James and John to follow him and "immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him". We humans worry. We worry a lot. What if we do this, then what happens to that? What if we do that, then what happens to this? We feel the need to "bao-ge-liao" (take every single thing) sometimes. But seriously, who can? This passage specifically mentions James and John leaving their father (who was with them at that time). There is no mention of whether their father was a believer or well or anything. That means that that was not the point. The point was that Jesus call...

I see a generation rising up to take their place With selfless faith, with selfless faith I see a near revival stirring as we pray and seek We're on our knees, we're on our knees When this song first came out in 2007, I was a teenager. I always sang it as a youth, thinking – yes, my generation. This generation of late teens/young 20-somethings. But as I sang it today, I thought – hey yes, my  generation now, as mid/late 20-somethings. My generation – the generation I grew up with, served with... my generation has its own revival to make. I sing it for my generation too. Sure we talk a lot about youths being the "prime stage" and in many ways that is true, but let us not forget that every generation has its own impact to make, and different impacts at every stage of life. I see a generation rising up to take their place With selfless faith, with selfless faith I see a near revival stirring as we pray and seek We're on our knees, we're on our knees...

Years ago at my first full time job, the CEO gave everyone a book for Christmas. The book was "The Little Red Book of Wisdom" by Mark DeMoss.  It is a great book with bite sized wisdom. In it are 23 wise tips for life, backed by an easy-to-read 4 - 8 pages of explanation for each tip. It's very easy to digest, and possible to apply. I recommend it. Here are a few of my favourites which I subscribe to: Buy some stamps (reclaiming the lost art of letter writing) I've always loved writing, so much so that a big part of my job involves writing. I've also always loved receiving letters and have been encouraged by written words, and so have always put effort to paying that forward. Technology isn't everything (learning to use it wisely) Sure there are times I do so much on my phone it gets bad for my eyes, but there are also times where I can completely put away my phone and not not attend to it. I think it's good to not always have to be "on dem...

"Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life." –Proverbs 4:13 NIV God, You are the only one who never lets me down. Thank You that I can trust in You. You are constant, steady, faithful. You are my rock, my foundation, my cornerstone, my pillar. You are the One on which I stand, yet also the One whom I stand under, sheltered. You keep me under Your umbrella, You keep me. Thank You.  Thank You. 

It's funny but, I think watching Korean historical dramas might have helped me picture some things in the Bible better. Haha. I've been watching Dong Yi. Most of the settings are within the palace where there are a lot of protocols – bowing to higher ranks, having to go through many gateways before you can see the king, the king's absolute authority, and more. It gets a bit tedious at times because it makes the show longer (get to the main plot!), but you really do see the respect and hierarchy in place. ^ Korean King holding a session. Every time he gives a decree, they all bow with their heads to the floor to either appeal it or thank him for his graciousness. ^ ^ Royalty is always surrounded by a gazillion people.  Their guards, eunuchs/ladies-in-waiting, servants... ^ So. Today as I read the book of Jeremiah in the Bible, I read about how the prophet Jeremiah was plotted against because he brought news of God's judgement to people who did not...

^ One of the all time very-important-to-me verses. ^ It's been a busy and tiring week, which has included a nine hour work day with just a 15 minute lunch break. Still, I am thankful for everything that has come my way. Truly. Please pray for me as I prepare to do a workshop next weekend for some young adults. Two things I prayer-prep most for are before I lead worship and before I conduct a workshop. It's possibly because I know those are things that I super super super need to rely on God for. It's not that I don't need to rely on God for other things; God is in our every day and every thing. But perhaps, these are two things close to my heart – worship and passing on of "heart". I will not be leading worship this time, but talking about worship. To bear any fruit at all, everything indeed needs to stem from "the vine". Apart from Him, I can do nothing. So please do say a prayer for me and the workshop participants as you read this, that ...

I just read the book of Amos in the Bible and wow, it's like a book of God ranting. He says to and through his prophet Amos: I'll destroy you, city of Damascus, for pounding Gilead to a pulp. I'll destroy you, Gaza, because you took captive communities which you sold to others. And Ammon, destruction will come upon you because you ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead. Also, Moab, you will be destroyed for burning the bones of Edom's king.    And you – you – Israel. You most of all – the one I chose, the one I have loved and shown favour upon. You will be destroyed for selling the poor for your rich wants, denying justice to the oppressed, adulterous ways, and so much more.   Are you blaming others for dragging you into sin? You can't! After   all, doesn't it take two hands to clap? If you want to sin, fine, go ahead and do what you want to do!    The solution is to seek me and live, but you don't!  No matter what I do, you do not return to...

Some thoughts from reading this book of the Bible recently. The book is mainly Solomon and his beloved expressing their love for each other. "... when I found the one my heart loves.  I held him and would not let him go."  –Song of Songs 3:4 When I first read this verse, I was quite enraptured by it – wow, what a love. Holding on and not ever letting go. This is the kind of love we should have for God. But reading it now, I realise it does show, unabashedly, love for a person.  Sometimes, we over-analyse and relate everything back to God. While it probably does relate back to God, we shouldn't skip the immediate, explicit meaning as well. Here, the woman tells us clearly that she has one – King Solomon, a man – her heart loves, and she held him and would not let him go. It is a love that she basks in and is proud to proclaim. Come to think of it, it's like marriage. Where a man and woman come together before their family and friends to proclaim – i...

A few thoughts from reading those books the past few days... --- In Exodus 1, Pharaoh orders the midwives to kill all Israelite baby boys. To preserve lives, the midwives lied. And God was cool with that. God calls us to listen to the authorities above us. But when what we are asked to do is not in line with God's ways, it's okay to do otherwise. God > man. The midwives lied. But in this case, they were considered shrewd, wise, and as the Bible says, "God fearing". --- Exodus ends with the completion of the temple, exactly as God commanded it to be. Perhaps in a way after building it, the Israelites were no longer an exodus (a mass departure of people) because after all, they were brought out so they could worship freely – and now they could. It isn't about settling in the Promised Land. Rather, it is about worshipping freely in a God-honouring way, wherever we are. --- Leviticus is full of rules that are so exact. They reflect God. A God of ...

"God is not calling us to go to church;  He is calling us to be His church... the hope of the world."   –Craig Groeschel Groeschel isn't saying that we shouldn't go to church. What it means to me is: There is no point going to church if we are not being  the church, if we don't make the church what it is supposed to be – the hope of the world.