Blessed Memorial Day

Have a blessed Memorial Day...

家常便饭

My Favorite Food is...

I still like Chicken Rice the BEST, I think I can eat it everyday...

Having Meals with Sinners

Mark 2:15-17 (New International Version)

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Sinners. Who are they actually? In the passage above, the word sinners is actually phased in a Quote-Unquote manner. Why? I think it is because every single human being is a sinner and when the Pharisees made that comment, the word has to be Quote-Unquote since the Pharisees themselves are also sinners.

Let’s consider another passage below.

Luke 18:9-14 (New International Version)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Both the Pharisee and the tax collector are sinners. There is no distinguished spiritual difference between the two of them at all. Similarly, when we know ourselves as Christians, are we like the Pharisee, as we come to Christ, we thank God that we are not like those guys who work with us – robbers, evildoers, adulterers, scolding vulgarities all the time and that we even boast in the fact that we read our bibles and pray daily? Or are we like the tax collector, as we come to Christ, we humbly ask God to have mercy on us as sinners?

All of us (Christians or non-Christians) are sinners as defined by Romans 3:10-12 and Romans 3:23. The only difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is a Christian is one who has experienced the G.R.A.C.E of God through Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross while the non-Christian has not yet received or experienced it. Without G.R.A.C.E, there will absolutely be nobody who can even come before God’s Holy Presence. All deserved to be punished for the sins which are committed against the Only One True Holy God of the Bible.

Because of sins in our lives, we are labeled as sinners. All of us, regardless of race, are sinners. Without Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross, there will be no G.R.A.C.E at all to redeem anyone of us. Therefore, we as the redeemed children of God should extend Jesus Christ’s G.R.A.C.E to all those who are in our midst and still viewed by God as sinners without Christ’s G.R.A.C.E. They are the pity ones who urgently need to experience God’s forgiveness, mercy and pardon.

Let us as the redeemed children of the Promise welcome sinners into our fellowship and share Christ’s amazing G.R.A.C.E with them. We want to be like Christ who eats with sinners and befriend sinners. Indeed, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’

By Faith

Jesus Paid It All

Without His Cross

這一生最美的祝福

Come, Ye Sinners Poor And Needy

Yellowstone N.P. Reloaded!

Background of Yellowstone National Park

Praying for DIRECTIONs...

i am so lost in this messy and corrupted world...

Pls Pray for North Korea

Pls help to pray for the people of North Korea to be able to know the only True God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. (John 17:3)

The Gospel of the Bible

²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Evidence For A Young Earth

The Last Seven Sayings of Christ

"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing"
– Luke 23:34

"Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
– Luke 23:43

"Woman, behold, your son!" ; "Behold, your mother!"
– John 19:26-27

"ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"
– Matthew 27:46

"I am thirsty."
– John 19:28

"It is finished!"
– John 19:30

"Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT."
– Luke 23:46

Each individual sayings of Christ can be a major study on its own and hence, I am just posting all seven of them here for our mediation. Food for thought…

God Won't Ask

1. God won’t ask what kind of fancy car you drove. He will ask how many people you took to church who didn’t have transportation.

2. God won’t ask the square footage of your house. He will ask how many people you helped who didn’t have a house.

3. God won’t ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet. He will ask how many of these clothes you gave away.

4. God won’t ask what social class you were in. He will ask what kind of “class” you displayed.

5. God won’t ask how many material possessions you had. He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.

6. God won’t ask what your highest salary was. He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary.

7. God won’t ask how much overtime you worked. He will ask did you work overtime for your family.

8. God won’t ask how many promotions you received. He will ask what you did to promote others.

9. God won’t ask what your job title was. He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability.

10. God won’t ask how many promotions you took to chase a dollar bill. He will ask how many promotions you refused, to advance your family’s quality of life.

11. God won’t ask how many times you didn’t run around on your spouse. He will ask how many times you did.

12. God won’t ask how many degrees you had. He will ask what you did to help others.

13. God won’t ask what your parents did to help you. He will ask what you did to help others.

14. God won’t ask what you did to help yourself. He will ask what you did to help others.

15. God won’t ask how many friends you had. He will ask how many people you were a friend to.

16. God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights. He will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

17. God won’t ask what neighborhood you lived in. He will ask what other neighborhoods you visited.

18. God won’t ask how many times you told the truth. He will ask how many times you told a lie.

19. God won’t ask about the color of your skin. He will ask about the color of your heart.

20. God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words. He will ask how many times they didn’t.

I happened to read this on a church service bulletin at Rapid Valley Faith Baptist Church in Rapid City, SD and found it pretty interesting, hence I decided to share this over my blog. The Pastor of this church is Pastor Ralph Silcott who is also the guy who has helped to show us around Keystone, Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse and Rapid City. A humorous man who is fun to be with! =P

Photos of my trip to South Dakota

Background of Mount Rushmore

Badlands National Park and Wall Drug

Visiting Mount Rushmore

Bless The Broken Road - Rascal Flatts

USA Snowboarding Champion

Mr. Shaun White

New Week, New Beginnings…

The Father has always been faithful but in return, I realize that I am not always faithful to Him.

Please kindly pray for me to be faithful in obeying His word this week and a short passage to meditate on for me will be James 1:21-22

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. ~NASB~

Thanks...

Seeking Directions from my Father

As that mini count-up timer (on the right) keeps adding time to my time spent in United States, I realize that I need to seek my Father’s direction as to where will I be going next. Time can only be increased and not decreased in any way. I seriously do not want to waste my life so I need to consider my next move from here.

Please help to pray for me in these pointers:

1. Pray for my family’s salvation and health.
2. Pray for me to continue to have progress in my spiritual growth.
3. Pray for me to be content with what I have and press on to obey Father’s Word.
4. Pray for me to be able to seek the next direction in the area of my job.
5. Pray for me to continue to be an effective witness for Christ in the workplace.

Thanks…

What's Next?

My haversack is filled with all the necessary stuffs for me to bring back to Lehi, UT which is my place of work for the time being. As I carried my haversack together with my notebook bag, I boarded the plane headed for USA with a heavy heart again. I will be away from my family at least till the next Chinese New Year (CNY) in 2011.

What’s next?

There isn’t a direction in my life. It seems that everything for me has been on a stand-still for the last two years…

Please help to pray for me to seek God’s direction in areas of my spiritual growth, job and family. Thanks.

Back to Utah, U.S.A

Cover Your Assets [CYA]

Hidden Treasure

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

~Matthew 13:44-50

As Christians, I strongly believe that instead of covering our assets, we should be witnesses for the Gospel of Christ to all who are among us.

The Good Old Days

Three Dollars' Unforgiveness

Pls forgive me for not having S$3 in my EZLink card and let me exit from the MRT station, please.

I beg you.

I am sorry I don't know this "new" rule.

Singapore, Singapore

Attempted to title this post after the much more famous, “New York, New York” but somehow I do not feel the same kind of effect being reflected here and so I am writing this down right now to tell my readers. J

Oh yes, I am back in Singapore for a three weeks visit after spending most of my time for the last two years in Utah, USA, mainly in the Salt Lake and Utah counties. I have finished up my first week and have another two more weeks to go before I will be ‘booking in’ again to Lehi, UT. This is my very first official ‘book-out’ since relocating to work in Lehi for two years.

The main thing which I miss in Singapore during my stint in USA is the F & B. Food & Beverage. I guess staying in Singapore; I do not really have to do much cooking as I can easily go to a nearby food court to get my food. In addition, the coffee in Singapore is more suited to my taste bud. In Utah, I only drink black coffee without sugar because the coffee there is too blend for me but looking back, I think I may be also too seriously intoxicated by caffeine that I need stronger coffee.

Besides F & B, I do feel good about being able to worship in my home church here. Worshipping with people whom you have known for a long while is great. I am able to connect better and also being able to hear from my pastor preaching the message again after some time is refreshing too. Sadly, I only have one more church service to go before heading back to Utah again.

After all this time spent in Utah, I am still praying to God about His direction and plan for me in this land of the West of USA. Hence, I will like to appeal for your prayers for me as I continue to stay in Utah for the time being. Pray for God’s leading in my future direction and at the same time, may He build me up as His effective witness in Utah. Thanks.

Keeping cool in HOT times

One week into coming back home to Singapore, my body is starting to get used to the hot and humid weather. It was a struggle in the beginning for me especially after spending a little over one year in a colder and less humid place like Utah. Even standing directly in front of the freezer section of my fridge, I am still feeling warm.

I thank God that now I am feeling less warm and also through this course of one week of ‘doing nothing’ at home, I managed to spend quite some time with my Father and learnt a few important things from Him. I thought maybe I can share it here since recently there is a pastor in Singapore who has ‘lost his cool’ in his preaching.

Well, everyone knows that there are two sides to a coin. Head and tail. Not so long ago, I was in fact drawing lots from throwing a coin after much prayer. ‘If it is Head, Father, then you want me to go to the workplace to minister but if it is tail, then it will be over to be a full-time minister in a Para-church organization.’ was my prayer at that point upon graduation from college. The result was head and the rest is history being written for my life.

Head and tail are the two sides of a coin. In dealing with life situations, I do believe there are also two ways of responses. Positively and negatively. You can be very positive to the life circumstance and move forward with it or you can also be very negative towards the situation which in turn is inducing a downward spiral of emotions which will affect others around you as well. I strongly believe that God will like us to response positively to all life situations because He is our Great Hope and He is the One who gave us the hope to share with all folks around us (1 Peter 3:15).

Under the hot and humid conditions in Singapore, I will want to continue to maintain my cool. I do not want to sound frustrated and impatient when things do not go my way but I want to still edify the people around me so that I will be the person whom people will like to go to. I will be the person with the HOPE which Christ has given to me through His sacrifice on the cross. Romans 5:8 says it well, “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Simply because of this verse, I have the hope to carry me through in life in the midst of economy crisis, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters, families breaking up around me and many other life situations. With this hope, I am called to respond positively to all issues.

As the coming of the Day approaches, I will really like to share with all true believers of our LORD to continue to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. With this in mind, I hereby will like to encourage the pastor who was shot down recently due to his preaching, to respond positively to the criticism and continue to live out a godly life full of hope in the coming of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ Who will be bringing all of us to reign with Him for eternity.

To the glory of Christ, let’s continue to keep our cool in these hot times of the last days!

老虎不发威，你当我病猫?!

Today is the very first day of the upcoming Chinese New Year of 2010. The Year of the Tiger. I titled this post with a Chinese saying just to make the point of being a Chinese myself. For those whom do not know what the title means, feel free to email me and I will try to explain to you as clearly as I can.

I truly enjoy the time being with my family after spending an entire year in the states. A great time of talking crap (again) with my mum and also being nagged (a few times so far) by my dad. Also had an interesting day with my relatives coming to my place for a gathering and trying to convince my three nephews and one niece that I am not a stranger but their Uncle. Haha, what a day.

In spite of all these good times, Singapore’s hot and humid weather is killing me. Even when I switched my room fan to the maximum speed, I am still feeling hot. It has really been a long time since I start to feel the ‘sticky’ feeling of my body due to the high humidity. In addition, to enable my body to be adapting faster to the weather, I went out for a 5 km run in the high afternoon temperature of the day. The result is I almost passed out in the heat of the sun. Haha… I am becoming a polar-man soon, I guess.

My dad is born in the year of the Tiger and so if you know how this Chinese zodiac works, he is turning 60 this year. I was born when he turned 30 that year and if your math is still good, I will be 30 this year. Looks like I am lagging behind his statistical ripe age of 30 for settling down but it is God Whom leads in this matter so who am I to go against His Will? It is VERY important to settle down with the right person so I will take all the time I need to find the right one first.

As per the norm across all cultures (East or West), during a contemporary family gathering like this, you will have relatives to ask you when you are getting married or having kids and stuffs. My second aunt is even telling me that this will be her last year of giving me Ang Bao and the next year, I will need to be giving out Ang Bao on my own. I told her straight that I need more time. Haha. I rather stay single all my life than be married to the wrong person.

Besides all these trivial happenings back in Singapore, I am writing this post to remind all Christians that we cannot believe in any of the zodiac signs interpretation. No matter if it is from the Eastern Chinese zodiac or the Western zodiac. The simple reason is God Himself has told us to seek Him first in all things (Matt 6:33).

In concluding, I hereby wish all fellow Chinese across the globe a very happy and blessed Lunar New Year ahead. May all continue to be healthy and staying hopeful in the midst of turbulent times while awaiting for the coming of our LORD, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

Enjoy your time spending with your family. I am enjoying mine to the fullest now. =P

Ground ZERO – home SWEET hOmE

A big thanks to our Great Father Whom has brought me safely home all the way from Utah after a grueling twenty-six hours flight. Right now, I feel like an excommunicated alien who has just returned to his mother ship and warming all his familiar things up once again for a super cool three weeks!

Come Home - One Republic

Time for Snowboard Jumps!

Good Reference Link

Coming Home - John Legends

Snowboarding Picture III

My 1st Snowboarding Video

The Most Important Thing in Life

What is the most important thing to do in life?

The most important thing to do in life is to make a decision to follow Jesus Christ. Alright, please do not close this window yet. Listen to what I have to say here. I answered my own question with this answer not simply because I am a Christian. The only possible primary explanation is Jesus Christ’s Divine Imprint is found in every single sector / compartment of life.

The Only True God of the Bible is in your family life, work life, love life, science, the air you breathe in, the scenic views you enjoy on road trips and even your Salvation which will decide on the eventual destination you will end up with after your physical life is over.

Our existence is not a simple WII or PS3 game which will eventually come to a point of “Game Over” be it you complete the game or not. There IS a life after our death. Every single one of us is uniquely created in the image of God as spoken by YHWH Himself in the book of Genesis.

YHWH’s Divine Imprint is found in every compartment of our lives.

If you will like to find out more, join me for our 2^nd half of “The Truth Project” series starting Jan 28, 2010; Thursdays 7pm @ Calvary Mountain View Church. You can also refer to our Facebook Group for more details.

I hope to see you there to do the most important thing in life. J

Another Snowboarding Picture

What Might Have Been - Little Texas

YouTube Official Video of this Song

Sure i think about you now and then
But it's been a long, long time.
I've got a good life now, i've moved on
So when you cross my mind....

(i, so, and) try not to think about
What might have been
'cause that was then
And we've taken different roads
We can't go back again, there's no use giving in
And there's no way to know
What might have been.

We could sit and talk about this all night long,
And wonder why we didn't last
Yes, they might be the best days we will ever know
But we'll have to leave them in the past.

That same old look in your eyes
It's a beautiful night
I'm so tempted to stay
But too much time has gone by
We should just say goodbye
And turn and walk away.

No, we'll never know
What might have been

My Snowboarding Buddies!

From Left to Right:

D-man, Myself & Mikey

Utah Valley Marathon 2010

Link

My Spent Life in 2009

This is my review for 2009. A year spent away from my family and familiar friends back home. Time can only go on and passes by but what have I done for this year? Let me take a peek back to that day when I flew back to Utah, US upon changing my visa.

I remembered that I lost my job in Singapore and found another in Utah. It was a moment of lost and un-expectancy as I prepare to relocate to Utah for at least two years. I knew from the very moment as I was being laid off from my job, God will be providing for me. Therefore, I did not worry about my job. I was simply numb to all the circumstances around me at that time.

Being single does have its own share of perks because for me to relocate to Utah was not too tedious. I only have to make sure I bring my laptop and also an IP phone (not IPhone) with me so that I can call back to my family. Most of my stuffs were still at an American friend’s house and so it wasn’t too tough for me. Upon being granted my working visa, I flew back to Utah on Dec 12, 2008 and amazingly, one year has already gone on.

This year has also passed by real fast, like all the other previous years. The last 12 months have been a time of living on my own to take care of myself, learning how to maintain a 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible and trying out new cooking recipes. Not forgetting picking up a new sports which is snowboarding. It was also a period of working with my wonderful colleagues on shift and laughing at their sick jokes. I guess time really flies when you are having fun.

As usual with all my New Year resolutions for the previous years, I did not really fulfill mine this year even though there is only one resolution. Hence, I am remaking this New Year resolution again which is to read through the Bible from cover to cover and memorize a verse from each of the sixty-six books of the Bible. I have already got a head start (haha…) as I am now already in 1 Samuel but the progress is still real slow.

2009 was also a year of recovery and healing for me although at the end of it, I am still lost and awaiting for God’s leading (if any) to someone who can encourage me in my walk with Him. I really hope to find a nice lady who can beat me with a cane if I fail to read the Bible daily as I need some discipline in this area and probably some motivation as I am thinking if there is a nice girl to read the Bible with me everyday, it will be fabulous. Anyway, this may be just my wishing thinking after all and the focus is all so wrong!

For all my Singaporean friends out there on the other side of the globe, I will be coming back for the Chinese New Year in 2010. As for the rest of the people on this side of the globe, have a blessed new year and I catch up with all of you again in 2010.

May our beloved God and Savior bless all of you!

The Birth of a Savior

Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

陳奕迅 - 聖誕結

Snowboarding, anyone? =)

陳奕迅 - 不如這樣

Mary's Boy Child

... Man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day...

Focus Your Eyes & Behold

Fell down big time last Friday during a snowboarding session. A great deal of pain went through my nerve systems and I had to sit at the slopes for a good five minutes before picking myself up again to continue to journey to the base. I hurt my wrist and for the snowboarding experts out there, the exact term is Scaphoid Fracture. Yes, there is some swelling at the base of my thumb area outside the wrist.

I was watching some YouTube videos the night before on how to link turns in Snowboarding which actually means to try to coordinate your heelside tranversing with toeside tranversing. Managed to do just that on the bunny hill but as I tried to perform the same technique on the intermediate slope, lost my balance and fell thereby hurting my right wrist.

One special note as advised by the instructor on the YouTube videos was to always remember to look at where do you want to go in snowboarding. This is the key. For instance, if you are going down the slope on your toeside, you will definitely need to look up the hill. Surprisingly, this simple glance up the hill will prevent you from falling. Therefore, where do you look as you are descending on your snowboard is very crucial.

As I recuperate from my first wrist injury sustained from snowboarding, God opened my eyes to see one principle in my walk with Him. My eyes need to be fixed upon Jesus in order that I can look away from myself and focus all my attention upon Him. This is the key which all of us as children of God should hold on to.

To keep myself from falling as I snowboard, I will need to just look at where I am going. Similarly, to keep myself from falling into sin, I will just need to fix my eyes on Jesus alone. A. W. Tozer put it plainly in his book, “The Pursuit of God” in this way, ‘Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of focus of my own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be…’

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a simple principle and if you take this to your heart, I believe you will be just like me during snowboarding that once I glance up the hill, I am not falling at all! We need to keep our focus right! In other words, once you constantly fix your eyes upon Jesus, you will not be falling into sin which literally means disobedience to God. As I reflect on my past Christian walk with Christ for the last eight years, I can truly confess that every time I sin against God in whatever ways is because of the fact that I was not fixing my eyes upon Jesus in that moment and I fell directly to the lust of my own flesh.

We need to get God into focus. The single fact of putting the only True God of the Bible out of the picture will only complicate things. Once God being our Creator is taken out, we can only have the Big Bang Theory, Evolution and broken relationships. The moment when we turned our backs on our Creator, we realized that everything has become relative. There are no longer absolute moral values because there is no Greater Being to make the call! Everything is right in certain ways and context so long you feel happy. This is the danger and this is exactly what the devil so desires.

We need to get back into focus with Christ. Let’s mediate on this verse today, shall we?

… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~Hebrews 12:2

Impressive Snowboarders!

Gone Snowboarding ...

What is Snowboarding?