Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Shawshank Redemption
Talk about Joseph making a difference in Egypt's prison...
Talk about Job going through unjust sufferings in life...
Moving forward in the face of injustice...
& yet making a big difference
Catch this if you have time to spare
Great movie!Posted by Kenneth at
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Let's Talk About L.O.V.E (Part 2)
A Father’s Love
We know the ending – the prodigal son was reconciled with his father and he was recognized as a son of the household, not as a servant.
His father saw him walking back towards the house when he was still a distance away and ran excitedly towards him, hugged and kissed him, an act that said – I forgive and accept you. In addition, his father gave him 5 things:
1. Best robe (which belongs to the father) - The robe of the father covered the prodigal’s son “ugliness”. Remember he was a pig farmer before coming home. He must have looked and smelt real bad. The servants were probably gossiping about him and wondering where the stench was coming from. When they see the prodigal son in their master’s best robe, they would know better than to be rude toward him.
This robe is a robe of righteousness. When donned upon, the prodigal son was made righteous again. This is just like how God the Father gave us His best robe – Jesus Christ - whose blood covered the ugliness of our sins and made us righteous.
2. Ring - A ring is like a credit card today. When the father gives this to his son he is really telling his son “Your name is as good as mine”.
Think about it, would you be guarantor for someone with a BAD credit history?
3. Sandals - In the past only masters/sons wear sandals. So the father is telling the son – I will not take you as my servant but you will return as my son.
(Weisheng drew a parallel between Moses, who took off his sandals on holy ground, and the prodigal son who was given sandals. This means that the son was made righteous to be able to wear sandals in his father’s house)
4. Fatted calf - The calf was killed so that they could make merry. The father was trying to cheer this very regretful and sorrowful son up. Wear a smile that lights up your whole town!
5. Music & dance - People often use music and dance to express their emotions when words fail. They’re an avenue of release. It’s also a celebration of the reconciled relationship.
In theology, five is the number that signifies grace.
The father of the prodigal son could have just said, “Son, I forgive and accept you. Now go get washed up and dressed”. But he went through the trouble of personally bestowing him with the five items, making it loud and clear for all to hear. This is all to make the prodigal son feel WORTHY. Now that’s what love and grace is all about!
Of Sin & Love
We’ve heard so many times that the wages of sin is death. Yet it may not have occurred to us that the immediate effect of sin is not death. When Adam ate of the apple, he did not die immediately. Neither was he plagued with diseases. Adam HID from God.
That in itself already provides a huge hint: The immediate effect of sin is the feeling of unworthiness, a sense of condemnation!
In less than six seconds or realistically close to four seconds, we judge and evaluate every single person we encounter for the first time. When we “*condition” a relationship rather than allowing the abundant love of God to flow through, we’re placing a restriction on it. In other words, we’re putting a lid on the relationship and not allowing it to grow/flourish.
*condition = Labeling a person as having bad attitude, wrong frequency, etc
Remember that the worthiness our friend feels come from us. The more love and grace we’ve experienced in our lives, the more we’re able to release it over another person.
To sum up, I have to again quote my favourite song in my favourite movie “Love lifts us up where we belong.”
Love never fails.
Posted by SanSan at
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Let’s Talk About L.O.V.E. (Part 1)
A post that Alicia asked me to post up, her thoughts after what Pst CK shared on tuesday.
Introduction
In Elephant Love Medley (my favourite song in my favourite movie) Ewan McGregor crooned, “All you need is love.. All you need is love.. All you need is looooove~~”And Nicole Kidman replied with a curt, “Love is just a game.”
Pastor CK shared a really good word on Tuesday. I felt that everyone should have a chance to hear/read about it so I’m penning (part of) it out.
The word began with a cross and a reminder of what Jesus said – I am the way, the truth and the life. No one else has access to the Father except through me.
With that, let’s first understand what Gal 2:20 really means:On the cross, there was a great exchange: Our fallen/cursed nature – poverty, sicknesses, weaknesses, etc – was nailed to the cross. In return, we received the power to get wealth, health, strength, etc.
Christ bore the brunt of our sins and for that moment on the cross, was separated from God for our sakes. While He would usually address God as “Father” – signifying the closeness of relationship – He cried out “God, God, why have you forsaken me..?” on the cross.
A blameless Man lost His Sonship so we may gain it. In that context, “I” (fallen/cursed nature) was nailed to the cross and (the nature of) Christ now lives in me. Remember that that wasn’t a sacrifice on our part.
Sure, we’ve all had to make adjustments to our lifestyles too – no more personal appointments on Friday nights (or whichever night cg is on), waking up early on weekends to make it to church on time, set aside time to read the Word and pray…
Is that a sacrifice… or not?
Prodigal Living
Truth to be told, the lure of the world can sometimes be very tempting indeed. Late nights partying, no ten commandments to follow, more time with friends/other half/spouse, sleeping in…
The prodigal son sees the world and is captivated by it. He went up to his father and demanded his share of the inheritance, left home, and attempted to make his mark in the world. However, it wasn’t long before his recklessly extravagant lifestyle drained him of his finances. He was left with nothing and there was a famine in the land. Famine, loosely defined, is a lack of something. Some examples of modern day famines are: lack of true friends, lack of finances, lack of peace, etc..
The prodigal son was now desperate. A famine creates a want, a desire, a deep cry in the heart. He was willing to do anything to keep himself alive. From a rich man’s son, he became a pig farmer, willing to eat even the food that was fed to the swine.
He turned to “junk food”. Will it fill him? Yes. But, he will get hungry again.
Similarly, when we do not know the Father, we will not find out what will truly quench our thirst or satisfy our hunger. We then try to fill up a want by methods introduced by the world. The feeling is tantamount to eating food at a hawker center with a lot of MSG. The food is delicious, but it leaves us very thirsty.
Every sensational experience we have will take us to a new high and leave us wanting more. That is the reason why drug addicts have to keep increasing the dosage to get to the same level of “high”.
Finally, the prodigal son has a little awakening. He realized that even the servants in his father’s house have more than enough proper food. Therefore he made a decision to turn back with the intention of returning as his father’s servant since he had tarnished the family’s name and had squandered his inheritance away...
(to be continued)
Posted by SanSan at