What are your standards?

Before a man can do things there must be things he WILL NOT do.
~Mencius~

What will you not do? Where are your OB (Out-of-bounds) markers? I like this term...i learnt it in my journalism class, and it has always struck me as a wise statement! =)

In the local journalistic reporting context, when OB markers are mentioned, it seems to convey a negative vibe, an area best left unventured, an area that we should practice self-censorship.

But instinctively, i sense that in everything, we must have a certain standard, certain rules we live by, some things that we do not compromise, something that we will NOT do! Imagine playing a game WITHOUT rules, yeah...we played one such game before (at least, we thought it had no rules!) and in the manual (notice i didn't say rulebook! hahaha!) It ended with this line "...Any other disputes should be settled by loud arguments among the players, with the owner of the game having the last word."

Ahahah! =) So...we see, at the end of the day, even in conflict resolution, there was a need to set a certain standard, a person with the last say.

Similarly in life, even if we refuse to acknowledge it, we all have taken on a certain set of rules which help us govern our actions. And actually, one of the best gauges of our standards is to ask...What is it you WILL NOT do?

It's easy to make statements like "I'll try anything once", "I'm game for it"...we live and are shaped by peer pressure, "One-up-manship" (always trying to be better then someone else), we always seem to appeal to people's sense of fun, daring them to do all sorts of things.

Yet...how many people challenge us in the things that are really important? Helping us set standards so that we know exactly what we will and will NOT do! I've been reading biographies again, and i've seen a certain pattern...the best sports coaches, they may not have been the best players of the game, but they were certainly masters of the RULES of the game! The better they knew the rules, the better they could play the game! In soccer, a keen knowledge of the rules is needed to know how to use the offside rule, especially now with the rule that if a player is not involved in play, he's considered "inactive"!

Hmmm...there are so many parallels that can be drawn, but yes...living outside of boundaries, living in rebellion to the laws, being unconscious of our standards...these things will cause us to stumble and fall when the times of testing come.

We have an unchangeable, immovable, divine and eternal standard in Christ, so let's be clear on what the Living Word says so that we hold to the RIGHT standards!

The Way

But to deviate from the truth
for the sake of some prospect of hope of our own
can never be wise,
however slight that deviation may be.

It is not our judgement of the situation which can show us what is wise,
but only the truth of the word of God.

Here alone lies the promise of God's faithfulness and help.
It will always be true that the wisest course for the disciple
is always to abide solely by the Word of God in all simplicity.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~

Does God ever oversleep? If He doesn't, then why do we hurry, engage in such hustle and bustle, why do we rush about so quickly we hardly slow down to listen for His still, small voice? Don't we believe that God has His eyes and His hands on things? Why do we act like He IS sleeping?

Does our life ever seem like a maze? A crazy series of twists and turns, seemingly without rhyme or reason...are we...in reality...lost, floundering and just making the best of a bad situation? Trying to make the best decisions we can? Where is God in this?

His answer?

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life!

While our nature demands that we see the road ahead, or that we're given a set of directions to reach there, we often fail to see that we hold the answers in our hands...but we lack the understanding to apply it.

I am the Way...- God is saying He is the roadmap, He is the direction giver, or...more correctly, He is the direction! We ask for a roadmap, a compass or the road, Jesus says, cling on to me, I'll provide all of those because I am the Way, you just have to cling on to me! Can we accept such a simple yet utterly faith-dependent answer?

The questions post...

To do God’s work is to do what is right when no one is looking …
and doing what is right when everyone else is compromising.
- Charles Swindoll

We're living in such uncertain times, a time when standards seem to have decayed beyond repair, where broken families, fractured friendships, strained relationships, all lay down amidst the carnage of a life lived for the momentary pleasure, the temporary gain, the instant gratification of our wayward desires.

We hide the ugly reality of our lives with a thinly veiled veneer that hides the parts that are crumbling just beneath that fragile facade. Where are our moral foundations? Why do they crumble so much, and SOooooOo easily?

Is it easier to cover over our imperfections? Hide them? Like applying putty to mend a crack? Foundation to hide facial flaws? Is it cuz we're asian that it is easier to leave things unsaid? Pretending to sweep things under the rug, when they are actually still there, just bubbling under the surface?

Being in the people business, i've always wondered if i will ever grow cynical to the point where i treat everyone with suspicion...i think that would be a very sad day. I've constantly relied on the Lord to keep me tender, to Love with His Agape, to be unconditional in Love, and it's a constantly humbling journey, one that is also frequently painful. It is true that hurting people hurt people, i've seen that happen time after time, and i've felt those stings of undeserved assaults, and yet, i cannot give up, it's not in my nature, cuz i believe God will never let go!

I know why it is easier to hold on to a mask, to keep up a masquerade, put on a facade...the simple reason is that it helps us cope with the pain, we can hide our hurt, cover the flaws, try to mend the scars. To show people our innermost being is to be vulnerable, it means being comfortable in who we are, it means, revelling in however imperfect we may be. It means that we glory in our weakness! And it is exactly how the Lord wants us...open, honest, vulnerable, being ourselves, showing our weaknesses, pain, hurt, ugly, unlovable natures, because only in realising how wretched, how inadequate we are by ourselves, can we reach the end of our rope, and then...the only answer that will satisfy at that moment would be....Jesus Christ, Lord and Saviour.

Who are you when no one is watching?
Do you do the right thing when everyone is compromising?
Whose standards do you keep? Yours or the Lord's?

In line with the whole theme...i'm not perfect, i struggle to keep doing the right thing, but i'm trying. I'm learning from Daniel 1, he knew God's standards, and he saw where it would challenged. To others, food may be "a small matter" YET Daniel DID NOT compromise!

Daniel knew the black, and he knew the white, and that knowledge helped him navigate the grey areas in life!

Do you know biblical standards?
Do you know how to apply biblical standards to daily living?

Dearest Lord Jesus, you know the hearts of your people far better than we think we know ourselves. I pray that you will plumb our depths and fill us with your Love, your desires, your immovable standards, may our lives be anchored on the solid Rock that doesn't move, so that when things around us shake, we may see as you see and be your Light of Love in those moments. In Jesus Name, Amen!

WARNING! Gross post!

You know that you're REALLY sick when you try to throw up...
and all that comes out is

PHLEGM....

ahahaha! Sorry if i grossed anyone out! What a nonsensical post! =)

Easter! =)

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

WOOHOO! =)

The significance of Good Friday to me...

Joy!....and tears...

My heart is brimming over with such Joy! This is so wonderful, so amazing! The reason why i love doing what i'm doing! =) Today at youth Alpha, we had 15-20 people choosing to receive Christ! And 1 came from my group! Woo! And yet again...i'm awed to just be a little clog in this, playing my little part and taking such satisfaction in it! =)

and then some other news struck me and whoa...reality hits home...and it hits hardest on the things closest to our hearts...

i just saw the news...and the latest news is that 28 people are dead from a tsunami in the pacific ocean that hit the Solomon Islands.

*ouch...*

It is truly amazing what happened today, 15-20 people choosing Christ and entering the Kingdom, yet...how many of those 28 didn't? I can only imagine what God feels...on the one hand rejoicing at every lost sheep that is found again, and yet...heartbroken at those who lose their way and never get found again...ever...

I remember this quote from my Christmas present (thanks buddy)...

"In heaven..There is one thing we can NEVER do...we cannot share the gospel"

~Dave Davidson~

Today, i caught a glimpse of this stark reality...people are entering the kingdom, yet others are being lost to it...forever...i know i'm not called to be superman, and there is only one Saviour, but yeah...i see very clearly that this is my season to step forth, to walk boldly, to tread the road, to walk the talk, to live out this faith that i've professed for so long!

"C.S. Lewis said that we have the tendency to think, but not to act
and to feel, but not to act.
If we go on feeling and thinking, but not acting,
then one day we will be unable to act."
~George Verwer~

It's time for me to act, and yes, i've taken those steps of Faith already! No turning back! This is going to be a great adventure and i'm looking forward to it. And yeah...i realise the reality of it all. As i heed the call, it might mean leaving everything that i've taken comfort from so far...but yeah, can i stomach disobedience to the call? No way! I'm taking God at His Word! =)

I know that obedience to the call is so much more compelling and it truly is on my heart!

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears
however measured and far away."
~Henry David Thoreau~

I hear the sound of a heavenly drum, and as i step to it, it means breaking with the familiar, sacrificing the good, choosing the best, staying close to the Lord and being obedient all the way.

Like Ginny Owens put it, "...He never said it would be easy, He just said, i'll never go alone"

And yeah...in the end, God's word is the ultimate, He speaks truth that is irrefutable!

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

Whom God Chooses

Whom God Chooses

When God wants to drill a man,
and thrill a man, and skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man,
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man,
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch his methods; watch His ways.
How He ruthlessly perfects
When He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay
Which only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying,
And He lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When His good He undertakes.
How He uses whom he chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
But every act induces him
To try His splendor out --
God knows what He's about!

Go then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come disaster, scorn, and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure;
With Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, Abba, Father;
I have stayed my heart on Thee.
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

Henry F. Lyte