The Sea

There was this time when I was in JC1. It was just after the promos. Those few days I felt I had somehow forgotten how God's love looks like and I asked Him to show me again.

One of those days, my class had a class bbq. So in the evening, I went down to East Coast Park with a few classmates. We arrived early and decided to go walk on the beach a while.

We walked onto the sand. I took one look at the sea..and well, lo and behold, I must have looked like I suddenly became memerised by the sea, 'cause I simply stood there as though my eyes were glued to the sea and stared at it.

Yes, that was it. A likeness of God's love! So wide, so deep, the waves lapping so gently at the shore, like His love knocking so gently at the doors of hearts. Yet the sea reaches so far, far and wide, far beyond our furthest horizon. That seemingly huge expanse of water before my eyes isn't even 0.01% of how big the ocean really is.

The sea is something you can go into. If you simply view if from afar, nothing much happens to you. But you can take a step, and wade into it, deepers and deeper, become submerged in it. If you go deeper enough into the water, you can drown in it. It can kill you! No, the sea isn't tame, it's dangerous! If you let it, it will swallow you up completely.

Actually, I didn't see the stuff in the last paragraph on that bbq day. All I saw was a calm, vast sea, so huge yet so gentle, so subtle, and quiet. Cool water you could sink into on a hot day, and I knew the Lord's love is wider, deeper and much, much more wonderful than any ocean could ever be.

Surrender

What does it mean to go to God? it simply means you go to Him in surrender. you don't hold on tightly to all you have, ask and sit there and wait for Him to come to you. You take your heart, give it to Him and He will come to you, and give you more than you can ever think or ask for, out of 'His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.' His glorious presence.

Official Christian

Remember there was this time I was tinking abt stuff like official and on paper?

Like testimonies and official records. like how on paper i wasn't supposed to be a Christian. I thought it's really dumb like somebody's insisting that I keep on official record my old address even though I moved long, long ago.

It's like saying I'm not an official Christian. Unofficial Christian. So funny. It can make me feel quite irritated.

Ok.Ok. Cut the crap. The thing was just that hte Lord reminded me that He keeps a set of records too. His own set of records apart from everyone else's. my name may not be categorised as 'christian' in the Singapore govt records, but it's written in the Book of Life! if there may be a lot of pple who won't recognise me as a christian, God does. afterall, how official is official? Isn't official to God official enough?

Besides, the other records are going to cease to be. No matter how important they look now, they are really temporary. and the Lord's records are for keeps. For eternity.

What to keep and what not to keep

Today the Lord's telling me about what to keep and what not to keep.

The physical things: they can become a distraction. Don't keep old things for the sake of keeping. don't keep things that will not be referred to again. keep things that are useful. buy them. things are meant to be used. use even your things to glorify the Lord.

I asked the Lord what He would keep. He doesn't just keep things (for the sake of keeping). Can you imagine Him keeping a hammer to remind Him of the time He was a carpenter or something. he kept little. The Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. of course, Jesus and His disciples kept useful things eg. Judas kept their money bag.

Jesus kept prayer in His life. Even when He was kept very busy by multitudes of people everyday, He made sure He had time to spend time with His Father. He got up early to pray.

The Lord kept..His disciples in His heart. He kept..keeps! all of us in His heart. So, must keep people you love in your heart. and keep them in prayer. Plus must keep the Lord in your heart always.

Our God is a faithful God. He keeps His words. So we must trust His word and keep His word. plus you must learn to keep your word so you can be like Him.

What not to keep--the past! Don't live in the past. don't keep a record of wrongs people do you or wrong you did. Jesus forgave you.

keep things like a person who's travelling. people who's on a journey keep useful things in their bags. medicine, a pen, water, money etc.

They don't lug things of sentimental value around. it's always easier to travel light. You're on a journey with the Lord, you better not lug rubbish around. you, better travel light, It's gonna be a long journey.

The heaviest things. Pride, laziness, unwillingness. so heavy how to travel with the Lord? Throw them away! you're on a journey. you're fighting a war. it;s a life-and-death matter. no place for white elephants! forget about metaphors. Just this! if you want to please the Lord, you know you must let go of sin in your life.

the heaviest baggage is just me. "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."

Must keep: the joy of the Lord in your heart. guard it diligently. never let it out of your sight. guard it jealously. Don;t let anything take it's place in your heart. don;t let any person or circumstance steal it from you.

Let God keep you! "Remain in me, and I will remain in you...apart from me, you can do nothing" - John 15:4,5