Wear White? Worldly Wisdom

To the Wear-White People

Let me make it very clear: I am a conservative, evangelical Christian. I hereby challenge you, whom I consider siblings in the faith, to observe and consider your own actions. I put it to you that your actions and reasoning are worldly, carnal and will yield no fruit worthy of the Kingdom of God.

Why wear white to send a message? You want numbers to impress the press, society and LGBT activists. You want to put on a show of power. You are, at the root of it all, playing a political game. Now tell me, where in the Scriptures do you see the people of God trying to get their way by a show of power?

Public display? Let me remind you of where in Scriptures we have public displays, people trying to get their way with the powers that be, through a show of numbers. The first was astroturfing with Pontius Pilate, when the chief priests and elders of the Jews persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. Pilate saw he could not prevail, that a tumult was arising, so he gave in. (Matthew 27:20-24) The second was the public rally at Ephesus, when Demetrius stirred up the silversmiths to protest against Paul and his missionary efforts. It led to city-wide confusion that the civil service had to step in and remind the people to follow set procedures and go through official channels. (Acts 19:26-41)

I think these two examples from Scripture are sufficient to show that such mass movements to rally support and put on a show of power are carnal and worldly. You can say the Wear-White display is nowhere like these two examples. I say it is nothing like the approach and the ways shown us in Scripture either. When the Bible shows us the people of God maneuvering amongst political leaders, they operate behind the scenes. Two examples come to mind

Nehemiah – when he desired to rebuild Jerusalem, he first prayed, and then brought up the matter with King Artaxerxes at the opportune time. When Artaxerxes questioned him further, Nehemiah showed that he had already put in thought and planning (able to give the king a time-frame, Nehemiah 2:6). Nehemiah astutely managed the conversation with the King and persuaded the King to provide resources and building materials for the rebuilding. All this was done in a private conversation, not in a public debate.

More importantly, note that Nehemiah only began to rally public support among the Jews only AFTER he had the political support of the king (Nehemiah 2:17-18). If he did it the same way we are trying to do now, you can imagine what the king would have thought of the matter!

Mordecai – When Haman the Agagite sought to use state machinery to destroy the Jews within the Medo-Persian empire, Mordecai did not try to rally support amongst the Jews, nor did he try to call in political favours he was owed by that time (he had saved the king from an assassination attempt, that must have had some political clout). He called upon Queen Esther to use her influence to save the Jewish race (Esther 4:8).

Even in the New Testament, Paul’s problem with the Ephesian rioters in Acts 19 was NOT handled with public confrontation or getting the believers in the city to put up their own power display. The political leaders contacted him behind the scenes and told him to just stay out of sight. If he had tried to counter the Ephesian rally with a rally of his own, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out it would all turn out very badly!

Finally, it is foolish to play political games with the LGBT activists. They know what they are doing, we have no clue. Example: one of the movies that was made with the deliberate purpose of eliciting sympathy for the LGBT cause grossed US$157.3 million in ticket sales in USA alone. And most of us Christians here in Singapore had no clue about that movie’s true purpose. Many of us probably watched the movie ourselves and even recommended our church friends to do the same. The figure of US$157.3 million, by the way, was only the first installment in the movie series, some of sequels grossed much, much more.

If we could not even discern this one move from one of their sympathizers, how can we expect to out-maneuver them in worldly wisdom? We cannot. Not only will we fail, we will fail miserably. I have read their playbook, people. And it amazes me how dense some people from the Love Singapore movement can be when I explain to them what the LGBT activists want to achieve and what frustrates them. Jesus told us Christians to be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves. I’ve seen many of us get the two mixed up…

“Then what should we do, JJ? Nothing? Just let them have their way?”

Pray.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NKJV) - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds

And I don’t mean pray for Christian politicking to work. I don’t know everything about God, but I believe he has no interest in granting such a carnal, worldly prayer. There are so many prayers recorded for us in the Bible, we should be praying those. Note that the political efforts of Nehemiah and Esther & Mordecai were preceded by prayer. We too ought to pray. We should be praying until we catch the heart of God and receive heavenly wisdom, wisdom that is pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17). We should be praying and seeking God until we truly perceive the glory of God.

And after that we are to display the glory of God.

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV) - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Contrary to what some of the LGBT community would say of us Christians, we aren’t all cruel, uncaring and merciless bigots. But the wear-white movement draws attention to a wear-white message, when God wants the community we are in to see ALL the good that we do.

1 Peter 2:11-12 (NKJV) - Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Do good works. Show kindness. Let them see what God the Father is like.

Matthew 5:44-45 (NKJV) - But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

If we think the LGBT activists hate us and what we stand for, then we have instructions from Jesus to do good to them. And don’t think for a moment we can get-away with a passive-aggressive kind of thing, to buy a coffee or a meal for an activist just to make a condescending point. They won’t be impressed, and neither will God. We have to look into really seeking common ground with them.

For example, when there were gays beaten and even killed in Russia recently, how many of us believers mourned? How many of our churches here spoke up against the beatings and killings? The local LGBT activists could garner at best 200 signatures for their petition to the Russia Embassy. If just a few of our smaller churches started their own petition calling upon the Russian government to stop the hate crimes and violence, would we not easily garner more support than that? Would we not have sent a message to the community at large that God loves the world and we actually do something to show it?

Another example – we all know the activists organize the Pink Dot gathering at Hong Lim Park pretty much every year. Did it ever occur to us that security is a concern for them? If any nutcase goes bonkers there and starts hurting or killing people… *shudder How many of us prayed for the safety of the people, that violence would not erupt there?

My point is this – there will be common ground between us and the LGBT activists. If we are active in doing good in the common ground, that will glorify God. For example, we don’t like to see an effeminate teenage boy get mocked, heckled or bullied in school. We don’t want to see teenagers estranged from their parents because of their sexuality and get chased out of their homes. Because of our resources and connections, we can actually actively help make things better for society even in such areas.

And that is the opportunity we still have at this moment. Whatever message we want to send to the government, press, society and LGBT activists, the MOST important message is: God is real, God loves the world, and we Christians are out to show it.

Don’t tell me I am naïve, unaware of the agenda at hand, uninformed about the persecution that awaits us Christians should those lobbyists have their way. As I said earlier, I have read their playbook, I know what is up and coming. But I also know the Bible, I know how God wants us to live in these times. If we want God’s kind of results we cannot achieve them without doing things God’s way. If we want to know the will of God we have to first make sure we do not conform to the pattern of this world. It all boils down to this: how much do you believe God acts on behalf of those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4)? I am betting on it, how about you?    

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This was written in response to 

Songwriting - Personal Opinion

I spent slightly more than a month on night-time gig. It was an interesting one, an eye-opener for me in many aspects. We would regularly do a particular song as an instrumental, featuring a performer on the soprano saxophone. And after our set one of the singers would get on stage and sing the same song, but poorly (it seemed like he was making up all the lyrics as he went along, and in very weak English).

Our drummer would comment, "There are how many billion songs on this planet, why must he choose that one?"

That quite sums up my attitude towards songwriting for worship and for church use. We have a crazy number of songs available for church use these days, why would we need to write more?

Of course, I know that is my personal opinion, and there are people in the body of Christ gifted and tasked to write more songs for church use. Barring any major changes, I won't do that myself, because:

1) There is no assurance what I write is worth using in church;

2) Even if it is worth using in church, it will still need lots of time and exposure to make it something usable, with the potential of becoming what I call a Fallback Worship Song. Given that there are many great songs already available and in use, should my time and effort be put there?

3) I am not in the worship music business, with a quota of albums to create, produce and market. If you are, that's great for you. Be faithful to what God has put in your hand, OK? I am not, and so I see no need to come up with more songs to add to the millions already out in the church music scene.

That said, I wrote a few songs more than 10 years ago. I might get around to recording them and putting them up somewhere. But don't hold your breath, I am no Chris Tomlin, in either quantity or quality of songwriting. I do better in taking someone else's song and making it better! :)

Ever felt cut off from God's goodness before? I know I have.

Sometimes I feel that way because of the current situations I am in. 

Psalm 27:11-12 (NIV) - Teach me your way, O Lord ; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

When the threats and problems are current, right in your face, so to speak, it is easy to get caught up with the danger and trial and lose focus on the good that God has promised to us. And yet that is when we need to be mindful of God's goodness the most.

Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV) - I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.Wait for the Lord ; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord .

Sometimes I feel that way because of things I have done wrong before. When current trials hit, there always seems to be some bright spark around me who will say "If only that time you had (ABC) then you won't have to go through (XYZ) right now..." Other times I don't need that bright spark around; I remember my own failings and mistakes well enough, thank you very much!

Lamentations 3:19-20 - I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

At such times, this is THE big question - are my mistakes, sins, and failings bigger and more powerful than God's goodness?

Lamentations 3:21-26 (NIV) - Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord 's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord .

The point of the above passage, however, is that it is NOT guaranteed that we will make it through the trial. It is NOT a given that we can clear past a particular storm or crisis. In other words, there is still a chance we will go under.

What does it take to successfully make it through difficult seasons? It takes the goodness of the Lord. And how do we access it? The passage tells us "The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him". How does one actually hope in the Lord? By seeking him.

"... it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" - This tells me the deliverance of the Lord will most likely take time. And during that time, as we are enduring trials and difficulties, we have to continue to seek God. It is not for the faint-hearted or impatient. 

Seeking the Lord will also enable us to discern if he wants us to plant ourselves down long term. Huh? Check this out:

Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIV) - This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you intoexile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Remember, these are people exiled from Israel as a punishment for their sins. Humanly, we would expect that God would either take them back to Israel swiftly as they submitted themselves to God's will, and so they should not be making long term plans; or that God had forsaken them, so they would just wither, shrivel up and fade into obscurity in Babylon. 

But God chose neither. He had the prophet Jeremiah admonish them to make long term plans, and even to pray to the Lord for Babylon to prosper. I cannot imagine how much this idea messed up their minds and their pre-conceived notions of God and his ways!

Oftentimes it is much easier to stay out of trouble. God has already warned us in this Word that sin will have consequences, and we won't like them. God often gives us an uneasy feeling about people we really shouldn't associate with, as they can turn a good situation into bad. The book of Proverbs has MANY warnings that help us recognize problematic people, and avoiding them or backing out of partnership with them is a lot easier than dealing with all the grief they cause later, believe me!

But once we are already mired in the problems, however, getting out of them, and more importantly, achieving God's purposes in the midst of them, takes a lot more wisdom to manage. We really can't see the big picture while we are caught up in the storm, so all we can do is listen to God and have him guide us one step at a time. We have to discipline ourselves to not give room for the flesh, the carnal nature, to rise up and goad us into doing things we will regret later. And we need to keep our hearts and minds on God. 

Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV) - For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

May God continually guide and navigate us through life, and even more so during the difficult seasons! 

Scripture Snapshot - Thinking About Politics

Thinking in the long term, I care about politics because I care about the country and environment my children grow up in.

Psalm 103:17-19 (NIV) - But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children -- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 

But it is God's government that is truly important, no?

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV) - For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

And God's government will only be fully established in Jesus. No point looking to men to establish it or make it work. In other words, put your hope in God, not men!

Psalm 94:20-23 (NKJV) - Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,

Have fellowship with You?
They gather together against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood.
But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.
He has brought on them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness;
The Lord our God shall cut them off.

Over where I come from, Christians care more about what is legal than what is right. The above passage tells us that God cares about what is right. Condemning the innocent is an abomination to God...

Psalm 75:6-10 (NKJV) - For exaltation comes neither from the east

Nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.

But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

“All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”

... and eventually there will be a reckoning. We may see evil men in power now, but God will bring them down and raise up other people. So anticipate that process with much prayer!

Psalm 107:39-42 (NKJV) - When they are diminished and brought low

Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock.
The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth.

How does God judge princes? By how well the common citizens fare. That is God's heart for the people. Again, we see God's purpose and intent. But it is up to us to pray for it into reality.

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV) - “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

May this be the acceptable year of the Lord. May your Kingdom come and your will be done, Lord, on earth as it is in heaven!

After Resurrection Musings

One problem with trying to understand the prophets:  the sequence of events and themes isn’t always clear. After I looked at Isaiah 53, the next logical step would be to look at Isaiah 54. Here is what caught my attention.

Isaiah 54:9-10 (NIV 84) - "To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. 

If the punishment for all my sin and transgression has been borne by Jesus on the cross, then logically speaking, God has no more reason to be angry with me ever again. I believe this applies in the sense of my relationship with God being secure. Of course my fellowship with God is NOT secure, and should never be taken for granted. If I choose to ignore God, neglect my prayer time and let dust gather on my Bible, I am out of fellowship with God. 

Imagine, not hearing the voice of God, being deaf and blind to the leading of the Spirit, while being weak in the inner man because of not feeding on the Word of God. That is a very dangerous state to be in these last days!

Isaiah 54:11-15 (NIV 84) - "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. 

So what or who is this afflicted city mentioned here?

On one level, it refers to the city of Jerusalem. We see the LORD speaking to Jerusalem in both Isaiah 51:17 and in Isaiah 52:1, and he does not address any other group of people until the start of Isaiah 55. That means that Isaiah 54:11 refers to Jerusalem. 

For us this can refer to the physical city of Jerusalem, or also the New Testament church

Hebrews 12:22 (ESV) - But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect 

One mistake to watch out for – do not let the spiritual meaning negate the physical meaning. There will be people who think that this prophecy can apply to the spiritual Jerusalem, therefore it does not apply anymore to the physical Jerusalem. That would be like saying because this verse: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh“ (Gen 2:24) applies to Christ and his church (Eph 5:33) it does not apply to our earthly marriages. And Eph 5:33 shows that idea is clearly not Scriptural. 
  
Two thoughts from this passage:

1) Move beyond an individual-based faith to a community-based faith.

Our individual, personal faith-walk with the Lord is the foundation. We need to seek God for our own lives, to see his working in our day-to-day experience, to experience his promises fulfilled for us. If not we end up like some people I have seen, who spend more time praying for the church than for themselves, sound very spiritual and mature, and yet fight losing battles with their problems and addictions in their personal lives. 

But after that foundation is laid, we must swiftly move on to praying for the community also. We can find many prophecies for Jerusalem in the Old Testament and prayers for the churches in the New Testament. If spiritual maturity is defined by how much the Bible reflects our lives, attention and priorities, then ignoring the community (Jerusalem or the church) is a clear sign of immaturity.

So pray! Pray for yourself, pray for your local church, and pray for the church at large. No one with a Bible and an internet connection can ever say “I don’t know what to pray about”, it’s handed to us on a silver platter by modern technology. We have no excuse!

2) Pray for Jerusalem

When I set out to regularly pray for Jerusalem, I soon realized that there were many Scripture passages I could use. The above passage from Isaiah 54 is only just one example. Just casually reading through the book of Isaiah yields many prophecies for Jerusalem (and Zion) for us to use in our private prayer time. But if you are wondering how to get started, here’s a simple answer.

Psalm 122:6-9 (NKJV) - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:“May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls,Prosperity within your palaces.”For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say,“Peace be within you.” Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

Pray that Jerusalem will experience the shalom of God, the peace, prosperity and well-being of God. And pray that there will be justice in Jerusalem, because the purpose of shalom is to order and establish his kingdom, the nation of Israel, with judgment and justice. In other words, shalom, judgment and justice will show the world what the rule of Christ truly is.

Isaiah 9:7 (NKJV) - Of the increase of His government and peaceThere will be no end,Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,To order it and establish it with judgment and justiceFrom that time forward, even forever.The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

I’d better stop here before I get carried away by the Scriptures again. If so I’ll never stop writing. Chew on all this sharing for now, I need to go back to praying. Be blessed! 

Good Friday Musings

For the Good Friday weekend, I went to relook Isaiah 53. For my night-time Scripture reading with my boys, I took the time to read Isaiah 53 to them, even though they are old enough to read it themselves. I usually will pay extra attention to these verses.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV 84) - Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

All through the rest of the year I will prize divine healing (at my age being sick sucketh, verily), but this season I wanted to really meditate on the price paid for it, and for forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Then this part of the chapter grabbed my attention.

Isaiah 53:10-12 (NIV 84) - Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

“… the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand” – Sometimes (OK, almost all the time) I think the will of God is frustrated or even defeated. Let’s not look at all that is going wrong in the world, I just need to look at my own struggles with following God. It seems to be getting harder and harder, and I seem to fail more and more.

And yet in the midst of all that, the Word of God still proclaims, “… the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand”. Just as it was true in predicting the suffering, crucifying and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is true in declaring that the will of the LORD will prosper in the hands of Christ. I, on my part, need to continually place every area of my life in his hands, and it comes from specific, directed prayer. Which means listing out everything that bugs me.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV 84) - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And that, by the way, explains why I always make time to pray by myself, out of earshot of EVERYBODY in my family. My sons don’t need to know that Daddy seems to be bugged by just about everything!

“… by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

He will justify many. Even those who mock him and ridicule his name now. Even those who persecute his church. Just as he did for Saul on the road to Damascus, he can do for the evil people of this day. I have been praying for them to be judged, Jesus wants them to be saved, that his blood for them not be shed in vain. I need some major repenting here!

“For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

I can’t bear the sin of others, but can I at least join my Lord in making intercession for the transgressors? Knowing that I myself was counted among them too?

So this was what I was meditating on during the weekend. Be blessed!

Faith for My Children

I haven’t been posting here for a long time. Life has been a relentless flood, problems with work, all the hassle and things that need to be worked out for changing work, and my sons’ exams. The added pressure has been testing my faith, for sure!

One day, I realized why I was so uptight, unhappy, worried and fearful: I did not really believe, deep in my heart, that God’s goodness goes beyond me and extends to my children. Now once I figured that out, the next step was to study the Scriptures to see what God has to say about it.

Psalm 100:4-5 (NIV84) - Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

This was the passage that got me started nearly 20 years ago, when I wanted to let the Bible teach me about worship. And it promises that God’s faithfulness continues through all generations. Does that include my children? The problem is that “generations” is too wide a scope for me. It makes me imagine hordes and hordes of people, but not MY kids (which is what I am really concerned about, right?).

Genesis 26:4-5 (NKJV) - And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;  because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.

God appeared to Isaac and made the above promise, that he would be blessed, and that it was because of his father Abraham. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by the part “… kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws.” I know it sounded like Abraham fulfilled all the commands in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, but the fact is, God did NOT speak all those to Abraham. Study what God commanded Abraham to do, and you will realize it is a lot simpler than what most of us expect!

But all that is Abraham and Isaac. How about us? 

Proverbs 14:26 (NIV84) - He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.

Me fearing the LORD will be a refuge for my children. There are many things that the Bible defines as fearing the LORD, but they have something in common: they are a refuge for my children. That means they help protect them and shelter them in days that are increasingly dangerous and treacherous for all who want to live godly lives unto the LORD.

So what am I do to? What is my part in all this?

Ephesians 6:4 (NIV 84) - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

David gives a guideline to what that means to me as a father.

Psalm 34:11-14 (NKJV) - Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

And as I labour in that (parenting IS hard work, don’t let anyone convince you otherwise), I need a vision of my goal. “Begin with the end in mind” is the management mantra that really applies here. What is the end I desire to see for my sons?

Isaiah 44:1-5 (NKJV) - “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.

Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you:

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring;
They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.’
One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.

My sons are to see themselves as devoted to the LORD, in both senses of the word: I have devoted them to the LORD and their lives are given over to his loving hands, and they are to love the LORD themselves, out of their own will, and be loyal to him. And God himself promises to be devoted to them, to teach them himself.

Isaiah 54:13 (NKJV) - All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.

Conclusion:

Faith, confidence and assurance are to be based on God’s word. Now that I have received light on the matter, I have to keep the above Scriptures in front of my eyes (keep reading and re-reading them) and in my heart (keep thinking about them) until they bring me the life God promised (Proverbs 4:21-22). And if you are a parent, I hope this post will encourage your heart and strengthen your resolve to raise children glorifying the LORD. Be blessed!

Praying Daniel Style 01

Recently I have been going back to praying Daniel style.

Last year I started praying Daniel style. I take the Hebrew words used to describe Daniel's prayer and search for other verses related to those words, then use them in prayer.

For your reference, I blogged about those words here: - http://jvworship.blogspot.sg/2013/08/prayer-life-lessons.html

Here are my passages for today:

1) Bless - 

Psalm 104:1-4 (NKJV) - Bless the Lord, O my soul!O Lord my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty,Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,Who makes the clouds His chariot,Who walks on the wings of the wind,Who makes His angels spirits,His ministers a flame of fire.

2) Bow down - I take this to refer to humbling myself.

1 Peter 5:5-7 (NKJV) - “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

3) Give thanks (lift up hands) - 

Psalm 63:3-4 - Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

4) To gush over, to pour out - 

This is the point I bring up whatever is on on my heart. Today I prayed especially for success in my work.

5) To make supplication (implore for mercy) - 

Isaiah 30:18 (NIV 84) - Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

The word for "gracious" in the above passage is taken from the same root as "make supplication". So today, instead of asking God for grace and mercy, I looked at his word to see his willingness to be merciful towards me.

So that was my prayer outline for today. Hope you find it useful. Be blessed! 

Faith and Love Protect the Heart

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NKJV) - But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 

You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

---

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 (the middle paragraph above) was brought up during the church sermon on Sunday. It made me realize that I haven't looked at this passage for a while, so I spent some time on it this morning. "Watch and be sober", it says. 

We need to be sober to put on the breastplate of faith and love. It is especially telling that Paul compares faith and love to a breastplate (protecting the vital organs, especially the heart). I have been having my heart hurt often this year, in fact, my heart is danger of becoming sick.

Proverbs 13:12 (NIV 84) - Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

So when hope is deferred, what else is there to protect the heart? Faith and love. So I have to make it a point to feed my faith by ramping up my Scripture time even more, as well as to keep myself in the love of God.

Jude 20-21 (NKJV) -  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

How do I keep myself in the love of God? By looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which means that I am always on the look out for mercy, signs of his grace and help even in the midst of the trials or day-to-day life. So that summarizes what my spirit man is set on these days. Be blessed!

Quick Update 02

Another passage on my heart recently

James 1:2-4 (NIV) - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Trials test faith. The idea of “trials of many kinds” suggests that there is also faith of many kinds too, or at least faith applied in different areas of life and yielding different results. 

Romans 14:1-4 (NIV) - Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One person’s faith holds him/her to stricter standards, another’s faith gives more latitude. I find it interesting that even Paul refused to specify one as better than another. If he doesn’t hold up one as higher or stronger than the other, why should we?

Back to the topic of trials – the purpose of trials is to bring maturity, and that requires perseverance. That finally started making sense to me, since any virtue is flawed unless it has perseverance to back it up. For example, compassion is weak if it cannot continue in the face of adversity. Humility in degrading situations has to persevere, or else it is unable to bear fruit.

Sounds good in theory. But in real life, when trials hit, we usually don’t know what they are for and how we ought to handle them. Sometimes trials require us to use our faith, to express our faith with specific works, in order that we may achieve the outcomes God desires for us.  

James 1:5-8 (NIV) - If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. 

Here we see the most basic application of faith – to ask for and receive wisdom. We can even say that without wisdom, we are unable to achieve the purpose of any trial, because we’d just be groping in the dark about what is happening and what to do to overcome that specific trial. 

This tells me that one of the first areas a new believer has to be established in (after the Fatherhood of God and forgiveness of sin) is divine wisdom. The new believer has to be taught that God’s wisdom is above that of this world, he desires to impart wisdom to us, and what we, on our part, have to do to receive it in order to act upon it. 

James 1:9-11 (NIV) - The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. 

This passage has had me stumped for ages – humble circumstances are a high position? Riches are a low position? But it is starting to make sense to me these days. When we are in humble circumstances, the only high position we have is NOT of this world, it is in the eyes of God. 

Ephesians 2:6-7 (NIV) - And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

It is when we are in humble circumstances that we most need to remind ourselves of how highly God has lifted us up in the heavenly realms. Problem is, the heavenly realms aren’t perceived by our earthly senses, they can be perceived only through faith. Hence the need for both faith to be tested (James 1:2) and for us to set our minds and hearts on things above (Colossians 3:1-2), as I said in my previous post. 

And when we are rich we should take pride in our low position. In what way are riches a low position? Earthly riches are so transient, they can fade away so quickly. 

Proverbs 23:4-5 (NKJV) - Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease. Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.  

Earthly riches are transient, they can be lost so quickly. Every rich man knows that, anyone who has slogged for his or her millions knows how precarious that position is, that he or she is usually just one bad decision or one financial calamity away from losing everything. You don’t need the Bible to tell you that, life tells you that quickly enough! But the Bible goes a step further and tells is to take pride in it. 

The Greek word translated as “take pride” (Kauchaomai, Strongs’ #2744) has the idea of boasting. When a rich person boasts of how precarious his wealth status is, that tells everyone not to look to him for help, to not envy him but to look beyond earthly wealth. And that means looking unto the LORD, maker of heaven and earth. 

Maybe this explains what happened to David in Psalm 30. Could it be that he got caught up in his wealth and success and thought that they were secure even apart from God’s sustenance? 

Psalm 30:6-7 (NIV) - When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken." O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

I suspect this is what God wants me to learn this season, that in the midst of my trials I have an exalted position in Christ, and even when my trials are over, any earthly success or reward I might get is transient, so fragile and able to fade away quickly. But earthly rewards are not all that I will receive when I make it through this season.

James 1:12 (NIV) - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  

There is a crown of life waiting for me. I don’t understand what it means, what it looks like, or if it is something I will receive in some way here on earth or only at the final judgment. All I know is that thinking about it makes my heart beat faster in anticipation and courage to arise again within me. That passage also tells me the secret to persevering under trial: love God. Keep loving God and that will ensure you make it through!

That is my prayer for myself now, that God will keep that crown of life on my heart and strengthen my love for him even during this season. Is that your prayer too? I would to God that be so! 

Quick Update

(personal blog post) 

Yes, I know I haven’t been posting.

Life used to be ups and downs. Ever since I last posted it has been a lot of downs, to the point when I often can’t think straight. Whenever I see all that happening, I hunker down and go into crisis prayer mode. That means – no Scripture reading plan, and if I don’t think of any new Scripture passages to look at today I relook at whatever I meditated and prayed on yesterday. 
Actually, I will usually try to relook at the previous day’s verses also, to further ram them into my mind!

The pain of this season is more acute because of how well things went last year.

Psalm 30:6-7 (NIV) - When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."1 O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

Anyway, I am thinking of just sharing in a small way the verses that are on my mind this season. Bear in mind, there is no plan, so don’t expect things to build one day on top of another. Here goes:

1 Peter 1:3-5 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 

One thing I have to put in effort into – keeping my mind on things above, especially when things below are going badly. Earthly problems have this way to shout loud in your mind in the voices of fear, anger and despair. And that makes it hard to remember the living hope I now have.

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

This is the part that grabbed my attention – suffer grief in all kinds of trials. During the time of writing, the trials the believers faced were various forms of persecution for their faith. And let’s face it, no matter how bad things are at my side, I am still not persecuted for my faith in Christ yet. 

But the passage said “all kinds of trials”. Does that include many disappointments and let-downs in my teaching? Does that include my son’s injury and all the stress and hassle that follow? 

“All kinds of trials”.  

I am very much a Word-of-Faith person, and I believe that God prospers and heals his people. So I do get tired of people who say that they bearing with sickness glorifies God. Nope, it doesn’t. It makes people wonder if the Jesus you believe in, who healed multitudes of people during his ministry on earth, is unreal, misrepresented or uncaring. Who gets the praise, honour and glory, then?

I believe we do. I believe God is the one who will lavish on us praise, glory and honour at his chosen time.  

1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV) - Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The salvation of our souls – if we take an expanded definition based on the Greek word sozo (Strong’s #4982, “make whole, to heal”, as in Mark 5:34), this also includes the healing and making whole of our souls. This ties in with Romans 5.

Romans 5:3-5 (NIV) - Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

In the midst of my trials, as light as they seem to my logical mind, my true character comes out. Eeewwwww, I don’t like what I see! And the only way to fix the character flaws and faults I see in myself right now, according to Romans 5, is to rejoice in my sufferings. Peter does not tell me just to rejoice, he says I can be filled with “an inexpressible and glorious joy”. How unreasonable! How ridiculous! How unbelieveable!

But it is just so like God, isn’t it, to ask of me what I cannot reasonably accept or do, so that I have to trust wholly in his wisdom and empowering to do what he wants of me? OK, enough of this for now. Will post again soon, hopefully. See you then!  

Is Substandard the New Normal?

I am all about encouraging people to garner their courage and take a step out to play music for their church. But over the years I have seen way too many unprepared people thrown into the deep end of the pool too early, left to sink or swim (sink, more often than not). That's not doing anyone, the church or the wannabe musician, any favours.

Even worse, I have discovered that when you get unprepared musicians playing "live" for church too soon, their bad habits usually become permanent. Something that could have been learned with 6 months of lessons now becomes a bad habit that takes 1-2 years to fix. And the unlearning and relearning process is painful (been there, done that).

Confession time - I too have contributed to such a culture. I have simplified stuff and cut things down to their bare essentials when teaching music for church. I guess that has unleashed the floodgates, sending people the idea that things can be simplified even further. And after some time music foundations (which take a long time to build) get short shrift in the quest to churn out "servers" for church, who feel better about their playing than they ought to.

The only way to get some semblance of music skill from such servers is by feeding them cheap, simplistic music formula. But if they believe too strongly the cheap music formula they are given, they become unable to pick up mistakes in their own playing.

Let me share my experience:

When I was a teenager, I started learning drums. I played in the school marching band, and so had a decent idea and grasp of snare drum rudiments. But when I shifted to the drum kit I had no one to teach me how to play rim shots or cross-stick. I made up my own approximations. When my own approximations did not sound like the professionals I assumed it was because the professionals had sound engineering to make them sound better, so if they gave me the same sound engineering and mixing I of course would sound just as good.

In the end, it got so bad that I thought my “boom pat” on the kick and snare was on par with the professionals’ “boom THWACK!” I heard my playing as the same as theirs. Looking back I cannot believe I had THAT much hubris!

This doesn’t just apply to musicians. It can also apply to singers. I worked with a singer who was not very fluent with English, but did her best to sing English songs because her church needed her to lead worship in English (God bless her heart). Whenever I pointed out to her any pronunciation mistakes she made, she would say that’s what she heard from the video/MP3. I tried my best to ignore those mistakes, but I had enough when I heard her sing the song “Worthy is the Lamb” by Hillsong. There is one line that is “crown him now with many crowns” and she sang it as “clown him now with many clowns”. No, I doubt Hillsong sang it like that!

But that is the problem when mistakes become habits. After some time we can’t even hear them anymore and we think our music/singing is doing just fine. We mentally tune out any extra high G notes on the guitar that clash with the B minor chord, or we play a pad sound on the synthesizer, hold it down with the sustain pedal, and leave it there even if we played the wrong notes in the first place or it no longer fits the chords of the song. When I was taking music lessons at Yamaha we used to laugh at a one-chord-fits-all kind of playing. I never thought our little insider joke from all those years ago would ever be seen as acceptable playing in a church…

To sum up what I am saying:

Proverbs 28:19 (NIV) - Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.

Don’t fantasize of waking up overnight and suddenly having musical skill and ability you did not work for. Don’t dream that amateur bumbling and noodling around will lead to skill that people who have put in proper work will envy. There are some shortcuts to certain aspects of music skill, but don’t ever let yourself think that practice and training will always be fun and easy. It is always fun and easy only for boring children’s music. The Levites in the Old Testament initially started serving from 30 years old onwards (1 Chr 23:3) and that was later changed to 20 years of age onwards (1 Chr 23:24). Even then I don’t think they played kiddie music in church!

OK, I am going to chill now and get on with my regular life. Be blessed!

In His Presence We Are Equal

This has been burning in my heart recently.

I have been going through a tough season recently ("again, JJ?" Yes, again). And the past few times these happened I have been looking at others with envy. Some people just don't have the responsibilities and challenges I have. Others cope with them so much better, either because of natural ability, wiser decisions in the past or help from supportive friends and family.

Whichever case it may be, it pains me to look at their lives and see how they do better than me. Facebook is NOT your friend at this point! I find it difficult to rejoice with those who rejoice these days, as the Bible admonishes me to.

And yet on the other side, I am sure there are people who envy me. I have decent music skills and I am quite effective in using them in the service of God. I have two healthy sons, and despite the different challenges they give me in parenting them, they are good kids. They are turning out better than I have reason to expect, and for that I really have to thank God for his grace and mercy.

This is before I start comparing myself from people who are less well-off than I am.

Over the years I had people sign-up for my mailing list and every email I sent on worship ministry was an excuse for them to ask me to send them money. :) The fact is that there are believers from the poorer countries that look at Christians from other countries as money-channels to be tapped and exploited. They will always say that they are serious about serving God, have no support from their own churches, and want me to go over and hold worship concerts for them. Then they expect me to pay my own way and give them money too, while they use the concert as a chance to raise funds from their fellow church-mates and countrymen. They get to keep all the money they raise of course...

*shrug*

It's tempting to be judgmental, but I have experienced extended seasons of lack and know firsthand how much it crushes the soul and affects the thinking. After some time you will start getting bitter and think you are entitled to help from others. Once you start thinking like that it is VERY difficult to breakout of that mindset and start trusting God to bring us to maturity and to make things work. So I sympathize with them. Not enough to do what they want, but enough to at least not name and shame them publicly.

In His Presence We Are Equal

One thing I realized: when we worship God and experience his presence through the Holy Spirit, we are equal. I don't get any less of God's presence than the people I envy. And I don't get any more than the people who envy me. I might be better able to perceive it and recognize it, because my heart may be less cluttered with worries and the things of this world (notice I said "less"), but God is with us the same.

Let me make it even clearer - when we worship God we all have the same access to his presence manifested in our lives. The guy with a divinely-blessed family and earning more in one month than I do in one year gets as much of God as I do. The guy with sick kids and struggling to pay his bills or even feed his kids gets as much of God as I do. The woman with a great career and less family responsibilities gets as much of God as the bereaved widow struggling to stay strong for her kids.

So what?

When God is with us, he can bring help to us in our troubles.

Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV) - God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
 and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

But we cannot expect things to happen automatically without any action on our part. We have to prepare the way for God to act, to show that we are humbly trusting in him and depending on him.

Psalm 50:23 (NIV 84) - He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.

Every time we enter the presence of God through worship, there is that divine potential. It may be seen as the power of God present to heal the sick (Luke 5:17) or God delivering us from our adversaries (2 Chronicles 20:22-23). Every time I worship God I don't know what he will do for me that session. Sometimes I get wisdom and insights, sometimes I receive comfort and strength. I won't know what to expect. I only know that God is worthy of my praise regardless of what happens, but as I praise him I can expect good to happen.

And I trust him enough to let him decide on how and when he wishes to bless me. As long as his presence goes with me, I know everything will work out.

Most Importantly....

... His presence is with YOU.

The same God that is with me is with you, if you are a believer of Christ and a child of God (John 1:12). And you get the same presence of God that I get. Can I just encourage you to make full use of this privilege? Be found in his presence worshiping him and praising him, he will take care of you! Be blessed!