A Devotional Corner

Prior to becoming a Christian, I never rejected God. I always knew He was there. I knew His existence. I knew He did marvellous things on this earth, but that was about it. I used to carry the attitude where if I knew Him, and He knows me, we are both cool. Where the good times, I may occassionally thank Him, if I remember Him; and if its bad times, I would most likely just sit on it and don't dwell on it. Probably only once or twice (yes, literally just once or twice in the past 20 odd years), would I only pray to God for help. I would say, what has passed cannot be changed, nothing can be done, time to look ahead. But thank goodness, at least I never blamed God for anything.

Every now and again in life, I would occassionally get asked a question: "So Ivan, are you a Christian?" My response gets quite akward. I don't know how to answer that question. Luckily, I have not been raised in a community where I would be persecuted if I give the wrong answer, so I have never seen the need to give the appropriate answer in the appropriate circumstances; so naturally, I honestly reply that I do not really know whether I am a Christian. I would blurt out that I have been to church when I was young, went to Sunday School, and that I knew that God did marvellous things on this plannet. I always thought that one can satisfy himself by answering his own question based on these pieces of information that I have given him.

But many who have asked me this question then in effect just gives me either a shrug, a nod, or merely say "oh", and move on to another topic. They merely ask out of instantaneous curiosity. They do not express an opinion on whether I am a Christian or not. Why is it that they do not give me a decisive answer? Is it because the people who ask the question themselves don't even know what it takes to be a Christian? Is it because they would expect that if a guy who says they go to church, went to Sunday School, knew who God was, they would naturally answer yes rather than giving an akward answer "I don't know"? Are they using the term Christianity synonomously with the term "religious"? Well I do not eliminate the possibilities of these situations at all.

Well, maybe I shouldn't be decisive in saying that they merely ask out of instantaneous curiosity. Some may want to help, but they may not even know the answers themselves. Some may live in fear, and think that it will be best probably just to leave it here and avoid all the dirty work. Leave it all to the pastors and the more experienced people to fix this guy up who gave some weird answer.

I always wanted to find out a decisive answer, but I always gave myself excuses. I always thought, God knows I am here, if He wanted me to know, He would let me know. I never actively searched for the answer, and sadly, this has really been the case for the first 20 years in my life.

All until one day, my gift from God finally came ...

-- To be Continued --

Posted by Ivan at 7:49 am | Permalink | Comments

(Disclaimer: definitely not a serious blog entry worth putting too much thought into it. It's a light hearted one only)

I have received an email forward today, and inside it, there was a section on Marriage and I quote it below:

In the beginning, God created earth and rested.
Then God created man and rested.
Then God created woman.
Since then, neither God nor man has rested.

So its all women's fault now? HA! If women caused trouble right from the beginning, so men should have lived on his own? But can men live without women? Don't think so. Look at all the crazy things that men could do for the woman they like!

Besides, God has told us that "a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one" (Genesis 2:24), so "Man must not seperate, then, what God has joined together." (Mark 10:9)

So gentlemen, keep chasing your (respective) chicks; Ladies, accept the love. But on that note, its no excuse to spread your risks and place your bets on several different people! ;) haha

Posted by Ivan at 9:50 am | Permalink | Comments

Those who turn to Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will be saved.
What if you read the bible wrongly? Will you still be saved if you have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? What if, on top of having Jesus as you Lord and Saviour, you also believe in other stuff that are wrong? like the mormans or the God witnesses.. and lots others.

What happens when these people pray to God?

Posted by Jot.. at 1:45 am | Permalink | Comments

Terry carried the body of his cousin home at seven. The head was a mess. A bullet had blasted through it. This was in America. 40yrs ago ( Terry is half native American and apparently they are still being hunted today)... Shortly afterwards his father took his family to Australia.

Terry started telling me about the rituals that he and the Indians believe in. he was defending himself against me when before I made any comment. I wasn’t going to anyway… Then he moved on to tell me about the flaws in Christianity. He mentioned how Christians are always disobeying the ten commandments. I didn’t answer his question. I asked him if he thought that the bible is false. He said that he didn’t think it was false.

We didn’t talk much more about God. I just sat and listened to him talk about his problems. And I got to know him better. Pray that he comes back next week to SHUM. I ran out of time this week.

Posted by Jot.. at 10:44 pm | Permalink | Comments

Day on which I was born. Nothing special today. Church in the morning as usual. Lunch with family. Dinner with family.
Still beautiful, I must say.

Why do people put so much emphasis on birthdays? who was the first person to celebrate a birthday. Who invented giving gifts on birthdays. I don't think birthdays existed before the existence of calendars.

Passover was the topic at church today. somewhere in Exodus. The Passover is kinda like a birthday. You still need to celebrate it every year. You don't slaughter lambs and spill blood though... But you make gifts (offerings ) to God. God wanted them to remember how he killed the first-borns. He wanted them to remember how God rescued their whole race from a superpower of their time.

The Israelites had taken on the Egyptian way of life. God commanded them to re-order their lives. Passover was to be at the first month of their calendar. It was to remind them forever and ever that God was their Saviour.

Did you realise that Jesus died at the first day of the Passover ( was it the first day?)? Instead of Killing a lamb without defect, they killed a man without defect. Instead of Saving the Israelites, God Saved the World.

Posted by Jot.. at 1:45 am | Permalink | Comments

I don't know what to think.
Adrian said that as he was being tortured, he asked Jesus to take the pain away, and he felt nothing. He was smiling and joking with his torturers. I am talk not of the torture of the mind but of the flesh. Wrists and ankle bound. Higher and higer voltages flowing throught the body.
Like a lot of the people we see at SHUM Adrian has an amazing story to tell.
I don't know if i believe but I know he will not lie.
Jesus came to save sinners. He came to save those that will turn to Him and leave their evilness behind. Adrian was a sinner. He commited the most horrific and terrible CrimeS in the eyes of our society. Yet when I thought about it. In God's eyes he was still just another sinner. Not much more sinful then us. He's sinful nature just happened to manifiest itself in crimes.
He's super natural experience with torture was amazing. That however, was no where near as amazing as his turning to God, and following Jesus Christ.
From talking to him. I can feel his passion for obeying God. I can feel his passion for rejecting Satan.
I am a sinner too.
There is something to be learnt from Adrian.

Posted by Jot.. at 10:49 pm | Permalink | Comments

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Hebrews 6:4-6

It's really hard for some one that has eternal life to give it up. It's even harder for them to get it back.

If you are unsure that u have eternal life, good you haven't lost it! you just don't know how to get it. You can still gain it.
If you have eternal life now, Great! You better keep it!

Posted by Jot.. at 11:33 pm | Permalink | Comments

Imagine that you try to be a good friend. You try and be with your friend when they need you the most. When they shout out, you will always be there for them and give them support. When they are stuck with an assignment and is up 3am in the morning, you get on msn, you are the first one to chat with him/her to encourage him/her that you'll be there always to support them. She completes her assignment, and she goes offlines without even telling you. You don't hear from her for a long while.

Soon after, your friend faces dilemas. She doesnt know how to decide on many life-affecting questions. The first person she chooses to call has always been you. Being a good friend of hers, she knows that you would pick up the phone, and will always be there to guide her. Even if you do not give her the answer, she'll feel comfortable. She's always delighted that you are always there. She finds her sense of direction, and she hangs up on you in all of a sudden.

In your friend's heart, she believes that you are a really close friend, but only on a selective basis.

You realise after a while, that your friend only calls you whenever she's in need for support or guidance. Whenever you see her, she is always unhappy. But after comforting, she leaves. Then you don't know what happens. You can only assume that whenever she doesn't find you, she is happy.

Even worse, although she claims you to be her close friend, she has never ever even tried to take an opportunity to find out who you are really like. You only find out from her other friends, that all she says about you is, that you know she's busy, and that you would understand her position for not spending time to understand you better.

Is this one-way care really a good friendship? Is it a friendship at all? Who on this world would show care and support when they do not get any care or support in return? Who would offer such love?

God.

Many claim that they have a special, unique, personal relationship with God. They would turn to God whenever they are in fear, when they need support, and they try and reach out for help. God helps them. When they are guided through these hurdles in life, they forget about Him. They throw Him out when they are happy, and they pull Him in when they are in need, just like a yo-yo. They feel they have a good relationship with God, but doesn't any relationship require at the very least, a two-way communication?

Do you have a personal relationship with God? Are you a good friend who care about the one who loves you unconditionally, or do you neglect Him?

"Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail."
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Posted by Ivan at 9:23 pm | Permalink | Comments

Many who do not have a full understanding of Two Ways to Live will often be deceived by its name. In this blog, I have no intentions of challenging any part of this evangelistic tool, but I am really only intending to point out how people often get the wrong message.

When people are asked The question, that do they:
(a) Want to continue leading their own life; or
(b) Choose to submit their lives to live in Christ
People would automatically see themselves being placed at Y-intersection, to choose their path for their future. This is where people hesitate and become scared.

In the process of consideration, one would most likely think, if I choose (a), I just continue on with my life. They often think, nothing is wrong with what I have currently, and most importantly, I know what my "way of living" is like.

Conversely, if we choose the latter, to take the new way of life, people begin to ask self-centred questions like: "How different will life be? Would it improve my situation? Or even, what will God do for me? Will He finish my homework? Will He pay off my mortgage?" This really suggests that they really dont appreciate the fact that God is our creator despite that they say they understand that God is our ruler. They fail to see in perspective what God, with His ultimate authority and more importantly His love, has done for us, in sending Jesus Christ to die in our place. It is not what God will do for us that is at issue, it is what God has done for us!

Then there are others who would ask questions like: "So what do I have to do or how would I have to change my way of life to live in Christ?"

The way of life, or the things in future that you have to do is where people misunderstand the whole idea of Two ways to live. Rather than seeing the importance of each element in 2wtl, many misunderstand it to be a little "story" to put them into perspective, so they could start to improve their lives and be good people. They believe the things that they have to do in order to live "correctly" include: having a commitment to go to church, pray, read the bible, charity etc.

They totally misunderstand the point that no matter what "good" things you do, it will not save them. It must be drawn to one's attention that when we always say good and bad qualities in this context, we seem to magically assume we know this standard of good and bad. However, it is God's standard of good and bad that we are concerned with here. So, are we really doing ourselves anywhere near justice if we even try and believe we can work out what God's standard is? Don't think so.

Christianity is not a focus on do, but it is a focus on done: What Christ has done on the cross for you. It is really your faith in believing in what Christ has done for you that grants you your new way of life, its not a way that you could walk yourself. We are told in that "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works [religious efforts and accomplishments], lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

For all you non-Christians out there that see this, I thank God for giving you this opportunity. Living a new life doesn't require you to do, but to believe in what has been done for you. So if there is no physical committment required, and all that it is required from you is to have faith in believing that Christ has died in our place for our sins, what have you to lose but to try out the new way of life? Besides, its Free and that's the only way to live in the truth. That's the only way to live in reality.

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Posted by Ivan at 8:23 pm | Permalink | Comments

Another month of SHUM (Surry Hills Urban Mission).

Today I had the opportunity to talk to Ricky. He knew a bit about Christianity. He knows about God. He knows God is there. He knows that God is creator. He knows about sin. He knows what Jesus did.

He thought that he can go to heaven if he is good and does good things. Hopefully, he now knows that that's not the case.

Ricky wants to hold on to his own Crown though. He is 20yrs old and says he's still young.
He said he will turn to Jesus later. He said he needed get more out of life and enjoy a bit more before turning to God. He thinks that a Christian life is all about praying and going to church everyday. He is equating Boring with Holy.

I think he has been preached to many times before, though he pretends to be ignorant. Thanks to God we have been able to clarify the picture tonight. I hope that our words will make him think and rethink.

I find it really hard to tell people that there is an urgency to turn from sin. Even I, think that it is unlikely that my world will end tomorrow. and christians have been preaching that the end is near for two thousand years.

Posted by Jot.. at 11:37 pm | Permalink | Comments

You have the key, you know how to get in.
What do you have to do next? Open the door!
You have Jesus Christ, you know how to get to God.
What do you have to do? Have faith!

I have a gift for you.
How do you get it? Put your hand out
God has a gift for you.
How do you take it? Have faith!

(Stole the idea off Jot. I am sure he doesn't mind. I'm acknowledging him here at least :P)

Posted by Ivan at 2:55 am | Permalink | Comments

From Genesis, we learn that God is the creator of the universe right from the beginning (Genesis 1:1). After taking six days of creation, "God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased" (v. 31). From this, it has been suggested that God has created the perfect world as God was pleased from what His own creation. Many would agree that it was only when man disobeyed God and ate the fruits of the tree of knowledge that made the world imperfect, when sin has entered into the world.

In chapter 3, the snake, being the cunning animal our Lord God has made, has tempted Eve to disobey God and eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. What baffles me is, if God really wanted to create a perfect world, then why create the snake to tempt man?

One may argue that God wants to give us freedom of choice, autonomy, so that we do not act like "machines", to let us determine what is right and what is wrong? However, does freedom of choice necessarily mean that you have to determine what is right and what is wrong?

Suppose we take the tree of knowledge and the snake out of the picture. Man could still have a choice of eating fruit from tree A, or eating fish from the river. There still is choice, freedom to do what we like, without the need to determine right and wrong.

So why is there a need for the tree of knowledge? Is it there so that human beings could have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small (Genesis 1:26), so that we could seperate ourselves from the other living things? However, if we have not eaten the fruit, humans would not have had the knowledge to understand what is right and wrong, in order to make them any more different than the other living things on earth.

The tree of knowledge aside then. We know that we sin when Satan works on us to tempt us to act against God. So, why is there Satan, why create the snake to tempt man?

Are there answers to these questions? Or is it that sometimes we just may not be able to work out how God thinks: "My thoughts, says the Lord, are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours." (Isaiah 55:8)

Posted by Ivan at 8:41 pm | Permalink | Comments