First Budget Flight

Yesterday, I went to Kuala Lumpur via Air Asia, my first budget flight. I was impressed. It was not uncomfortable, in fact, the same as any economy class flight. LCCT is of course much less luxurious than KLIA and the bus trip between LCCT and KL Sentral was about 60 to 90 minutes long. For the same trip between KLIA and KL Sentral, KLIA Express took only 28 minutes. When I was going back to LCCT, I wanted to try KLIA Transit to Salak Tinggi followed by the shuttle bus at to LCCT, but they told me that the shuttle bus was not operating yesterday because they ran out of diesel!

Walking By Faith Pleases And Glorifies God

God created all things for His own glory
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16 NASB)
The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. (Proverbs 16:4 KJV)
"Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." (Isaiah 43:7 KJV)
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. (Isaiah 48:11 ESV)
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11 KJV)
God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. (John 1:3 NLT)

Salvation by faith glorifies God
Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. (Romans 4:20 NLT)
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. (Romans 3:27 NLT)
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. (Romans 3:27 KJV)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

Faith pleases God
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 NASB)

God Hardened Pharaoh's Heart

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this. (Exodus 14:4 NIV)

When I read this to my son yesterday, he explained it in this way to his sister, "It is like mummy wanted to display her punishment to a friend, so she purposely cause you to make a mistake and then punish you to show her friend."

Food And Raiment Guaranteed

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. (1 Timothy 6:8 KJV)

So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Matthew 6:31-33 HCSB)

God's Delays

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3 ESV)

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 KJV)

God's delays
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt." (Exodus 13:17 ESV)

He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. (1 Samuel 13:8 HCSB)

So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (John 11:6 NASB)

"How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:9-10 NASB)

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 ESV)

Jesus Offends By Working Too Slowly

"And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." (Matthew 11:6 NASB)

This website gave three reasons why Jesus offends Christians. I am struck by one of the reasons given, Jesus works too slowly (the third reason). How true this is. Sometimes, we wonder why God took such a long time.

And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." (Luke 8:45 NASB)
Jesus was on the way to heal Jairus's daughter. But there was a crowd and He could not move fast. On top of that, He felt that power has gone out from Him and stopped to find out who touched Him. If you are a doctor attending an emergency, already delayed by traffic jam, would you allow other events to delay you further?


So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (John 11:6 NASB)
Here, similarly, we see Dr Jesus delaying again, after hearing that Lazarus was sick.

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:9-10 NASB)
God has not show His wrath for so long that many think that He either does not exist or is dead.

Here is the quote from the website on the three reasons why Jesus offends.


QUOTE
Reason 1: He demands too much. In John 16:1, Jesus tells His disciples that He’s sharing “all these things” so they won’t be offended by Him. Some of those “things” were stern warnings that they would be hated by the world and persecuted (John 15:18ff.). Jesus made clear that following Him won’t lead to a bed of roses. Suffering and loss are involved.

Unfortunately, some present a gospel that leaves these parts out. The result: Christians get offended when they realize what they’ve gotten into. But Jesus lets us know up front what following Him entails. Even in His own day, some of His followers stopped walking with Him because they regarded the cost too high (John 6:53-59).

Reason 2: He doesn’t meet our expectations. The Lord often works in ways that we don’t understand. I’ve heard some Christians say, “My life would have been much better today if I didn’t follow Jesus in my youth. Look where it’s gotten me.” In Finding Organic Church, I talk about the Catch-30 crisis. There comes a point in all our lives where we reassess the major commitments we’ve made in early adulthood. And we either dig in deeper or we abandon ship.

Isaiah says that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). The Lord works on levels that we cannot fathom. Paul says that God works all things for our good (Romans 8:28). “Why hasn’t God answered this prayer? Why didn’t He fulfill this promise? Why did He let this happen to me? Why did He let this happen to him/her? Why is God silent when I need to hear Him most?”

These are the questions that plague the mind of the serious believer. If you’ve not yet met the God who refuses to meet all your expectations, you will. And how you react in that day will reveal whether you are worshiping Jesus Christ or Santa Clause (see John 6:26). It will show whether or not you love God more than His promises (or really, your interpretation of those promises).

Jeanne Guyon once said, “I will still serve Him, even if it sends me to hell.” Job said, “Shall we receive good from the hand of the Lord and not evil?” Recall the three Hebrew children. They had lived a life loyal to their God. And the pagan king said to them, “Worship my golden image or else you’re going to die in my fiery furnace.”

Their answer is telling: “We’re not going to worship this image or serve your gods. The Lord is able to deliver us, and He will deliver us from your fiery furnace. But even if He doesn’t, we’re still not going to bow down to your false gods.”

What an attitude. What a posture. What faith. “God will deliver us. But even if  He doesn’t, we will still follow Him.”

Those words contain thunder and lightning for every child of God.

If I can use an illustration, we mortals are living on pages 300-400 of a 2,000 page book. Only God can see the whole book. And He’s only given us the ability to see pages 300-400. We have no capacity to understand what’s in pages 1-299 or pages 401 to 2,000. We can only speculate and assume what’s in them (hence we create all sorts of intricate theological systems to explain mysteries we don’t understand).

Here’s a lesson to learn: Life always comes down to trusting in the Lord rather than trying to figure out His ways via our finite, limited understanding. Yet together, we can better discover and understand what’s in pages 300-400, and thereby learn to live more effectively within them. (I hope blog posts like this contribute to that goal.)

Reason 3: He doesn’t show up on time. He works too slowly. He reacts too late. His deliverance takes too long. God’s clock is a lot slower than ours. We can text or email our prayer to God, and He doesn’t text or email back when we expect. In fact, sometimes we never hear back from Him at all. The screen is blank.

Sometimes we’ll pray for an important matter in our own lives . . . . or we’ll pray for someone else . . . for years. And the dial doesn’t move. Waiting on the Lord can become weary. And it can lead to offense. But God always keeps perfect time.

To sum up, here’s how NOT to offended by the Lord:

• Remember that He demands everything, and He has promised suffering and tribulation along with blessing and eternal life. So don’t sell out for a cheap, easy gospel. Such is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us what we were getting into and exhorted us to count the cost ahead of time (Luke 14:26ff.).

• Remember that His ways are higher than ours, and He doesn’t always show us what He’s doing or why. We may not always understand what He does or allows, but He can still be trusted. This is the nature of walking by faith rather than by sight. Even when His grace isn’t sufficient, it is always sufficient.

• Remember that God is always on time, but His clock ticks differently from ours. He’s a Lord who sometimes shows up long after the hour of healing has passed and we are dead for four days. Just ask Lazarus.

• Being offended by God is a choice. You can choose to take offense at the Lord and stumble over that which you don’t understand. Or you can “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

UNQUOTE

Barber

At today's Sunday worship, Brother Henry shared this story about a man and his barber.

QUOTE
A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut as usual. He started to have a good conversation with the barber who was cutting his hair. They talked about many things and various subjects. Suddenly, they touched the subject of God.

The barber said, "Look man, I don't believe that God exists!"

"Why do you say that?" asked the man. "Well, it's so easy, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be no suffering nor pain? I can't think of loving a God who permits all of these things."

The man thought for the moment, but he didn't want to respond so as to cause an argument. The barber finished his job and the man went out of the shop. Just after he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with long hair and beard. It seemed that it had been a long time since he had his hair cut and he looked so untidy.

Then the first man again entered the barber shop and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist!"

"How can you say they don't exist?" asked the barber. I am here and I am a barber."

"No!" the man exclaimed. "You don't exist because if you did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that man who walks the streets."

"But, I do exist, and that is what happens when people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" - affirmed the man. "That's the point. God does exist, and see what happens when so many people don't go to Him and do not look for Him? That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."
UNQUOTE

The First Prophecy Prophesied Satan’s Doom

The first prophecy in the Bible was spoken to the ancient serpent, Satan, and declared his defeat.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15 KJV)

The serpent will bruise the heel of the Messiah. He was crucified. But the Messiah will bruise the head of the serpent. He will be thrown into the lake of fire for ever.

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18 KJV)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1-3 KJV)

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. hat he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:7-10 KJV)

An Acronym For Praising God

During the Wednesday prayer meeting, Rev Yong gave this acronym for praise:

Pleasant to praise God
Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. (Psalm 147:1 ESV)

Right to praise God
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:3 KJV)

Always praise God
Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. (Psalm 145:2 KJV)

I will praise God
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8,15,21,31 KJV)

Sincerity when praising God
with my whole heart (Psalm 9:1, Psalm 138:1 KJV) with all my heart (Psalm 111:1 KJV)

Emotions of Excitement when praising God
I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people. (Psalm 35:18 KJV)

Beginning At Moses

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10 NIV ESV NASB KJV)

All prophecy in the Bible centered on this person who is the Messiah and on the nation Israel. In fact, the very first prophecy in the Bible is about the Messiah (Genesis 3:15). Thus on the road to Emmaus, Jesus was able to explain to Cleopas and the other disciple what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27 KJV)

This is also one way to distinguish between false prophets and true prophets. No false prophet will ever make Jesus the center of his message. False prophets may talk about God, may prophecy, may perform miracles, but they will never talk about the Messiah and Israel. This will never be the center of their message because God had put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

The First Prophecy - Embryonic Gospel

The first prophecy in the Bible is spoken to the serpent. God promised the serpent that the Seed of the woman will bruise his head.

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.
(Genesis 3:15 NASB)

Who is this Seed of the woman? It become clearer in another prophecy in Isaiah.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 KJV)

And it was fulfilled.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-25 KJV)

Now it is clear why it is the Seed of the woman, and not of the man. He was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for us, redeeming us with His precious blood. That is why the very first prophecy in the Bible is about Jesus Christ, the Seed of the woman, but not of the man.

He was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20-21 HCSB)

Pride And False Humility

What is pride? Pride is more than just an obnoxious behaviour of boasting and talking unceasingly about oneself. It is self-centeredness. The obnoxious boastful person's self-centeredness is just restricted to himself (小我). There is another more subtle pride, a bigger self-centeredness, such as tribalism, racism or nationalism. You are proud of your bigger self (大我). This bigger self can be so big that it encompass the whole creation, except God. Many leaders appear selfless in their pursuit of their ideals. They demand sacrifice of the smaller self to achieve the bigger self (犧牲小我，完成大我。)

Many Chinese hoped to practice humility by avoiding pronouns referring to self, such as "我 (I)". They use other words, such as  在下 (one who is in a more inferior position) and 後學 (one who is more junior in study), but if you look carefully, it is still about comparing self with another (上下前後).

Pride Detector

How can we identify a proud person? Tell someone that God created all things for His own glory.

The proud person usually will react in this manner, "What kind of God is this? So selfish, only thinking of His own glory. A good God should think of how to help others. Should have an attitude of self-sacrifice,  我不入地獄，誰入地獄。"

The humble will say:
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11 KJV)

Judging Ourselves

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. (1 Corinthians 11:31 ESV)

It is very important that we learn to judge ourselves rightly from the scriptures. First, if we judge ourselves, we would not be judged by God. Next, to judge ourselves rightly, we can only do so by the Bible. When we do that, we exercise our spiritual sword, which is the Word of God. We will increase our wisdom and learn to make better judgement in our daily living.

Glimpse of Heaven According to Revelations 6:9-11

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also. (Revelation 6:9-11 NASB)

Dr Tim Berrey used these verses to derive 20 points on what heaven is like. Amazing!

1. Souls are visible;
2. These souls are the same entities as on earth;
3. These souls, though having no bodies yet, but are conscious and alive;
4. They are remembered in heaven for their testimonies on earth;
5. They are under the alter, that is, in the place of prayer;
6. They are able to speak and communicate;
7. They are able to express emotions;
8. They are aware of each other;
9. They asked questions, that is, they do not know everything;
10. They have time consciousness;
11. They are concerned about events on earth;
12. They can communicate with the Lord and receive answers;
13. They are even more aware of God's sovereignty and holiness than us and they do not question God's wrath, but insist on it;
14. They remembered their lives on earth;
15. Though having no bodies, they can receive white robes;
16. They are individuals, each receiving their own robes;
17. They enjoyed their rest, but are aware that their fellow servants and brethren are still suffering;
18. They are aware of the coming change - the new heavens and new earth;
19. They are joined by others until their numbers are fulfilled;
20. There is solidarity with heir fellow servants and brethren on earth.

Christian Attitude Toward Death

Death
Death occurs when the soul separates from the body.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV)
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19 KJV)
Psalm 103:14 Psalm 104:29

The soul of a believer goes immediately to the presence of God.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV)
Philippians 1:23 Luke 23:43

The soul of an unbeliever goes immediately into conscious torment.
... the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off ... (Luke 16:22-23 KJV)
Hebrews 9:27 Matthew 25:41

Christian Attitude Toward Death
The last enemy to face; an enemy that must be faced (revelation 2:10, 1 Corinthians 15:26)
An enemy that shall be and has been destroyed (2 Timothy 1:10)
Not to be feared (Hebrews 2:15, Revelation 14:13, Romans 8:38-39)
An opportunity to honor the Lord (Philippians 1:20)
An opportunity to identify with Christ (Philippians 3:10)

No soul sleep, purgatory or annihilation.

Christ - The Heart Beat of Prophecy

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10 NIV ESV NASB KJV)

The first prophecy:
I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 3:15 HCSB
This first prophecy is spoken to the serpent.

The word "seed" in the original language is a singular plural, something like the word "people".

All prophecies in the Bible glorifies Christ.

Begin With The End In Mind

Stephen Covey, in his book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" list Habit 2 as "Begin with the End in Mind". This is good advice, although I am going to give this habit a twist. Everyone should begin with the universal end in mind. What is the universal end? It is death.

Steve Jobs also had the universal end in mind in his Commencement Address at Stanford University on 12th June 2005:
QUOTE
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
UNQUOTE

It is sad to know that these men, who gave such wise advice, did not heed the wisest advice of all, which is from the Bible, which tell of the truly important truth - eternal life.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3 KJV)

If you have eternal life, you would have solved the problem of death.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

Contradictions

God is One but God the Father is God; God the Son is God and God the Holy Spirit is God. God is good but there is evil in the world. God is invisible but He can be seen. God is eternal (outside time and space) but He is temporal (inside time and space). God is transcendent (superior to, absent and apart from His creation) yet immanent (present and active in creation and within us). God is immortal but He died. God is holy (just), but He is merciful (unjust).

Such contradictions are possible only with the one true God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This is beyond man's imagination.