Eyes wide open

Some thoughts about coming out of a pit of feelings of guilt, remembering Jesus' work on the Cross, and then going forth knowing that I have been forgiven :) In some seasons I have found myself in a pit of despair over my sinfulness and depravity – the self-centered thoughts I can’t control, the attraction to frivolous time-wasting activities (such as telling others that I think scrolling endlessly through one's Facebook newsfeed is futile, and proceeding to do so myself..). And in this pit I stop doing work passionately, but instead sit back and just feel... crummy. It's sort of like when, having missed your 8 alarm clocks, you accidentally nap for 4 hours, and then you get up, feel guilty, and instead of doing work to make up for the lost time, you kind of just sit back and feel bad. But amidst the guiltiness I remember the promise God spoke through David’s psalm of repentance: ‘My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will no...

There it is: the monotonous-looking, yet seemingly cryptic, untouched duo of the Old Testament: First and Second Chronicles. Genealogies, lists of people in service at the temple, stories repeated from preceding books... It took me a long time to actually resolve to read the Chronicles. I have finally gone through 1 Chronicles, and it is an amazing book. I wish I had been more keen to start. I didn't know what to make of the first few chapters of genealogies... What's the point? Sure... along with the rest of the Bible it's meant to be God's revelation, God's very Word, the lamp unto my feet and light unto my path (Ps 119:105), God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16)... But I didn't see it. So I opened up the super useful Bible Project video on the Chronicles. It gave me a good overview (s/o to Bible Project for amazing videos!). 1 Chronicles centres around King David, and stuff he did during his reign, such as his military victories, his mighty and loyal contemporari...

(Oswestry, Shropshire, England) Focused on Hebrews 11:1-16, 37-40 We hear that word a lot – faith . Walk by faith. Faith alone. Have faith. Keep the faith. If there’s any chapter in the Bible that makes it exceedingly clear what faith looks like in practice, it has to be Hebrews 11. I won’t be going through each Bible figure mentioned in this chapter, but will just share a few thoughts on what the passage says about faith.  What is faith? v.1 ‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’  This sounds pretty mysterious… what is it we hope for? And what is it we do not see? v.6 ‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must know that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.’  It’s starting to sound a bit clearer: Faith has something to do with believing God exists and that He will reward those who seek Him earnestly. v.10 (on Abraham) ‘For he was looking...

I have a few drafts of blog posts scattered across my devices - phone notes, blogger drafts, etc. I've decided, instead of working on those drafts now, to post a reflection about God's faithfulness in the past few months. I'm not going into physical detail about my experience in this post - will do so in a future one, maybe if I feel inspired on my flight back? :) As many of my rather spontaneously written reflections go, it'll probably end up like a prose-poetry kind of thing...... let's see how it goes! :') I just started university in September and it's been nothing short of amazing. God, and God alone, is more than enough. My phone wallpaper reminded me throughout first term - Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." A line from Saviour King (Hillsong) says "And now the poor stand a...

(Refer to: Luke 10:38-41)               Many of us are familiar with this account of Martha and Mary, sisters who were dear disciples of the Lord Jesus. I’ve read this countless times before, and each time I gleaned timely reminders from the story. But today (just a few hours ago) as I reread this account, God crumbled the floor on which I was standing, and revealed to me a deeper, richer, gospel-centred meaning to this account.               The key to this deeper meaning is to realise that this account came in the New Testament, spoken by Jesus, whose every word revealed some truth about the New Covenant He was ushering in. So, perhaps this account reveals to us something about the New Covenant as well. How so? It seems like such a simple practical story with a practical meaning that has nothing below the surface. But with God’s grace we can go...

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers , that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Colossians 4:12-13 ESV               A Singaporean pastor spoke in my church several months ago, and he said something that really struck me. It wasn’t a shocking fact that I hadn’t known, nor was it something I had previously disagreed with. It was something I surely knew, but was far from demonstrating in my own life. He said, “ The best thing you can do for a person is to pray for him. ” Too often for me, prayer has become a formality, a stale spiritual grace, a tongue-far-from-heart affair. Although if anyone had asked me about the power of prayer, I would no doubt have answered “ PRAYER DOES GREAT THINGS! Without prayer and co...

Psalm 119:81-88 (Kaph) - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+119%3A81-88             The great reminder of this passage for me is how steadfastly the psalmist holds onto God’s Word. “Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your decrees. … They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken Your precepts.” God’s precepts are a hugely important part of His Word to us: revelations of His character and attributes, through the laws He puts in place. And unlike everything else we know in the Universe, the only knowledge & wisdom that endures forever is God’s Word: everything else is a mirage of value in light of eternity. God’s Word               Some verses ahead in Psalm 119:105, the psalmist writes “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path” . Every step taken, every breath inspired, every choi...