today has been an interesting one...
The way people see problems are the way they will address it
that's normal and natural...
However, why is it that there is a failure to see that...
observing the letter of the law yet ignoring the spirit of it,
is even worse and more deceptive?
When we are finding ways to circumvent or to go around...
doesn't that ring it's own alarm bells?
Where is the moral compass? What has happened? ="/
Is it because the definition of the problem statement is wrong?
That people see the wrong actions and try to change it...
but deep within their hearts, they still hold on to the very same nature...
the actions adjust, but within, the heart motivations stay the same...
Is this cosmetic surgery hiding a deficiency of character?
Was wrecked by that sermon by Edmund Chan yesterday...
how we have been lulled into a spiritual complacency,
a deadness of soul and spirit,
because we lack the wartime mentality of confronting sin,
we are not militant about eradicating the root of the problem,
there is a predisposition to comfort, entertainment, fun...
we want the authority, status and power...
but at the end of the day, we do not wield it for the glory of God.
Not in our personal lives, and certainly not to the betterment of others.
We've been hearing that this next generation is the Joshua Generation,
the one that will enter and take the promised land,
that is a stirring cry, and a wonderful promise to apprehend...
I fully support and believe in that...
But there is also a reality to it, one that i'm aware of...
Edmund was right when he said, culture is slipping, morals are declining,
we are in a fight for the hearts and minds of this generation,
and it is a battle we are not winning...not yet...
not while they are shaped by youtube, facebook and temporary distractions,
we are in decline, in standards, morality, purity and biblical knowledge,
It is a fact, Christians know more about what is happening in movies and music,
then they do about the facts of the bible, and Jesus.
This generation will stand on the shoulders of the past generation,
but i hope that the Joshua generation that arises, isn't one that falls easily...
Joshua and his people were a wartime people...
they had to fight battles in their land,
some of these were against more numerous armies,
some were with cunning enemies who acted like friends,
and some were against giants...
They could rise up and fight because they were taught well,
and they knew how to wield the truth, and the weapons of war...
even after 40 years in the desert...
I think our youth have endured their own 40 years...
from independence to now...and it is worrying to see some things...
when the young of the nation are speaking ill and attacking their political leaders,
they exhibit a gross neglect of the battles the older ones have fought...
they fail to see that the prosperity of today was fought tooth and nail,
by a generation that was given nothing, and fought for everything...
A new generation that rises will need to fight their own battles too,
but if fighting those battles means they are fighting those before them...
it is simply the wrong battle.
The battlefront is for THIS own generation, it is a battle of their own hearts and minds,
defining this problem statement wrongly, and fighting on other fronts,
simply means that we have gotten it wrong.
Lord, please raise up a generation that is fighting for your name & your glory...
not one that entertains itself into meaningless oblivion...
but one that lives with a sense of divine calling and destiny in You.
I pray that you'll expel the lies in their lives...
that they may live and love you with all that they have.
May they have a nature that is shaped & moulded by love for You,
and may any sliver of compromise be radically dealt with,
There is such a divorce of thought and action sometimes,
but Lord, you've never given up so teach us to persevere...
When I watched movies, I've always wondered how those parents could...
spoil their kids, love them so much that they did everything for them,
and in the whole process, also live with so much neglect & disappointment.
Didn't their patience ever run thin or wear out?
Then i remember Christ...known also as the suffering servant...
He came to serve, he endured ridicule, people wanted to crown Him king,
He knew better and grew...no, not a kingdom, but a motley group of disciples...
Was He good-looking? suave? a polished orator?
No...the biblical description was none of that...
He grew up in a humble carpenter's shop, His appearance didn't make people swoon,
He did the funniest things...like spit and make mud to heal blind eyes...
Along with those who followed, i wonder how many laughed at this man...
We fight the wrong battles, and follow the wrong people...
May the pride and ego of this generation be sacrificed at your cross Lord,
May the posturing, the reliance on image & strength be released to you,
May we find our only security in You, the Rock of our salvation and our firm foundation...
The way people see problems are the way they will address it
that's normal and natural...
However, why is it that there is a failure to see that...
observing the letter of the law yet ignoring the spirit of it,
is even worse and more deceptive?
When we are finding ways to circumvent or to go around...
doesn't that ring it's own alarm bells?
Where is the moral compass? What has happened? ="/
Is it because the definition of the problem statement is wrong?
That people see the wrong actions and try to change it...
but deep within their hearts, they still hold on to the very same nature...
the actions adjust, but within, the heart motivations stay the same...
Is this cosmetic surgery hiding a deficiency of character?
Was wrecked by that sermon by Edmund Chan yesterday...
how we have been lulled into a spiritual complacency,
a deadness of soul and spirit,
because we lack the wartime mentality of confronting sin,
we are not militant about eradicating the root of the problem,
there is a predisposition to comfort, entertainment, fun...
we want the authority, status and power...
but at the end of the day, we do not wield it for the glory of God.
Not in our personal lives, and certainly not to the betterment of others.
We've been hearing that this next generation is the Joshua Generation,
the one that will enter and take the promised land,
that is a stirring cry, and a wonderful promise to apprehend...
I fully support and believe in that...
But there is also a reality to it, one that i'm aware of...
Edmund was right when he said, culture is slipping, morals are declining,
we are in a fight for the hearts and minds of this generation,
and it is a battle we are not winning...not yet...
not while they are shaped by youtube, facebook and temporary distractions,
we are in decline, in standards, morality, purity and biblical knowledge,
It is a fact, Christians know more about what is happening in movies and music,
then they do about the facts of the bible, and Jesus.
This generation will stand on the shoulders of the past generation,
but i hope that the Joshua generation that arises, isn't one that falls easily...
Joshua and his people were a wartime people...
they had to fight battles in their land,
some of these were against more numerous armies,
some were with cunning enemies who acted like friends,
and some were against giants...
They could rise up and fight because they were taught well,
and they knew how to wield the truth, and the weapons of war...
even after 40 years in the desert...
I think our youth have endured their own 40 years...
from independence to now...and it is worrying to see some things...
when the young of the nation are speaking ill and attacking their political leaders,
they exhibit a gross neglect of the battles the older ones have fought...
they fail to see that the prosperity of today was fought tooth and nail,
by a generation that was given nothing, and fought for everything...
A new generation that rises will need to fight their own battles too,
but if fighting those battles means they are fighting those before them...
it is simply the wrong battle.
The battlefront is for THIS own generation, it is a battle of their own hearts and minds,
defining this problem statement wrongly, and fighting on other fronts,
simply means that we have gotten it wrong.
Lord, please raise up a generation that is fighting for your name & your glory...
not one that entertains itself into meaningless oblivion...
but one that lives with a sense of divine calling and destiny in You.
I pray that you'll expel the lies in their lives...
that they may live and love you with all that they have.
May they have a nature that is shaped & moulded by love for You,
and may any sliver of compromise be radically dealt with,
There is such a divorce of thought and action sometimes,
but Lord, you've never given up so teach us to persevere...
When I watched movies, I've always wondered how those parents could...
spoil their kids, love them so much that they did everything for them,
and in the whole process, also live with so much neglect & disappointment.
Didn't their patience ever run thin or wear out?
Then i remember Christ...known also as the suffering servant...
He came to serve, he endured ridicule, people wanted to crown Him king,
He knew better and grew...no, not a kingdom, but a motley group of disciples...
Was He good-looking? suave? a polished orator?
No...the biblical description was none of that...
He grew up in a humble carpenter's shop, His appearance didn't make people swoon,
He did the funniest things...like spit and make mud to heal blind eyes...
Along with those who followed, i wonder how many laughed at this man...
We fight the wrong battles, and follow the wrong people...
May the pride and ego of this generation be sacrificed at your cross Lord,
May the posturing, the reliance on image & strength be released to you,
May we find our only security in You, the Rock of our salvation and our firm foundation...
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