Absolutely

This is just my opinion, it's just what I think.

Because society has changed. People have become more open and "so what?" in their relationship towards others- "It's his life", "it's her decision", "it's their choice"- we should respect their freewill. After all, it's their life- nothing to do with me. Besides, who am I to impose my stands, values and beliefs on them? This is my take/perspective of things; that's your view of the matter. Who are you to dictate or decide what's good for me? How can you be so sure and say that this is "wrong" or "right"?

No wonder the world hates, looks down on or disregards Christians- we've (i.e. Christians) have closed mindsets, we're straight-thinking and hold on to 'archaic' ideologies (like, hello, it's the 21st century and Christians are STILL reading that how many thousand years old "history book", and living their lives according to it)!

To top it off, in an open-minded society where "there's no real right or wrong only differing perspectives"- we continue to hold firm and preach moral ABSOLUTES!

Meaning? Meaning that we'd declare unabashedly that's it's wrong to lie, it's wrong to lust, it's wrong to have pre-marital sex, it's wrong to be engaged in a homosexual relationship- Even though "white lies aren't really lies"; "it's natural for human beings being created as sexual beings to lust"; "everybody's doing it"; and "they really love each other and it's not like they're hurting anyone with that lifestyle choice".

Why? Because the Bible says so.

So you do everything that the Bible says? Try to- Unfortunately, I commit the acts I declare to be wrong too. There are Christians who are lying, stealing, lusting, fornicating... the difference is they know and accept that it's wrong and are struggling to stop it.

Christians are hypocrites then. We're often described as such because we're not living up to the standards we subscribe to... But people need to know: Being a Christian isn't a declaration of perfection- on the contrary, it's a confession of sinfulness/ imperfection. A Christian isn't a Christian if (s)he has never admitted, "I'm a sinner"- it's the first step in accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

You still haven't explained why you judge others when you make mistakes yourself. Getting to that... When we've accepted Christ as our Lord, we mean it literally- we want to live our lives according to His will/ standards- even if they're unattainable at this point. It's really the least we can do in response, when we consider that He has offered us the gift of eternal life even when we didn't deserve it (i.e. when we were still sinners). Heaven is a place of perfection- and an imperfect being like me, simply wouldn't pass if not because Christ had sacrificed Himself for me, or rather us Christians.

There's no intention to judge when we define an act as wrong- it's like you said, who are we to judge when we ourselves make the very same mistake? We say what we say because our value system in Christ has defined those acts as wrong. In other words, you can say- that's just our take on things. We've experienced how great and wonderful it is to live this life with God and with eternity secured for us... and what could be better than having others be a part of this awesome promise with us? Unfortunately, we've not always been most wise in our approach at times and come off as trying to impose ourselves on others. Guess you can say it's like how our parents or those who care about us would put it- "I'm angry with you because I love you".

That's a truckload of BULL! You expect me to believe that you "love" me when you don't know a hint about me?! Who're you trying to fool? Agreed. There's no sense in what I just said, but mind you, it's not nonsense. Consider this- why is it impossible for me to care about you when I know how it feels to be loved by Christ when I didn't deserve Him and it's Him that I'm trying to bring to your attention?

Well, I don't want your Jesus Christ. That's fine. But nevertheless, f.y.i., His gift of eternal life, forgiveness and a most unbelievably amazing relationship with Him is open to you, absolutely.



Just Mi.

Finding Hope

There comes a time in life's many climbs,
when we yearn to fall, when we crave to cry.
But we hold our grip, we strain our strength-
we cannot afford- to simply quit.

With so much to carry, with so much to do,
and so little time- emotions are queued.
But this can't go on, at least not for long-
we all need a lift, a Saviour; a hope... ...

There is a hope
There is a hope that burns within my heart,
That gives me strength for every passing day;
A glimpse of glory now revealed in meagre part,
Yet drives all doubt away:

I stand in Christ, with sins forgiven;
And Christ in me, the hope of heaven!
My highest calling and my deepest joy,
To make His will my home.
~~~
There is a hope that lifts my weary head,
A consolation strong against despair,
That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,
I find the Saviour there!

Through present sufferings, future's fear,
He whispers 'courage' in my ear.
For I am safe in everlasting arms,
And they will lead me home.
~~~
There is a hope that stands the test of time,
That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave,
To see the matchless beauty of a day divine
When I behold His face!

When sufferings cease and sorrows die,
And every longing satisfied.
Then joy unspeakable will flood my soul,
For I am truly home.

by Stuart Townend and Mark EdwardsCopyright (c) 2007 Thankyou Music.

Hopeful,
Mi.

What happened?

Today I was at lunch with my colleagues and we had the most interesting conversation. Well it was very brief but it got me thinking for the longest time until I decide to put it up here. It went something along these lines...

... to have a child without getting married is fine in this generation. We shouldn't judge people. As long as the girl can support herself and the child, I don't think there's a problem....

... Yeap! If I had a child before I got married, I don't owe it to anyone to explain how I chose to live my life. If I get married because I'm pregnant is just so my parents wouldn't lose "face" to my relatives and at least they can say "She's pregnant and married, not pregnant and alone"

Basically, that's the gist of it.

As I am writing this, I'm speaking to a friend who thinks people shouldn't get married just cause there is a child involved. If they are not happy, then they should leave to lead their own lives and still love the child. Most people are happier that way rather than being at each other's necks all the time.

I stop to think... What happened? The very being that was created out of love has lost all sense of the meaning of love, marriage and family. How can we say that no one should get married because of the child? Answer: Because there is no point in getting married, let alone stay in the marriage if there is no love.

Then what about the child?

How can we say there is still a family when you have 2 mummies and 2 daddies when there is only suppose to be one each? How can there still be a family when your biological mummy and daddy is separated and not living together and will never be?

How can we say, its alright because the girl can support herself and she'll be fine raising the child?

Have we all forgotten about the child? How do you want your child to call you, mummy and daddy?? Doesn't a child need the love of a father too? Or how would a child say mummy 1 & mummy 2 and daddy 1 & daddy 2?

I'm not saying you should be married just cause you have a child. I'm just saying don't even attempt to have the slightest chance to have a child, meaning wait.

I'm not saying that a marriage should happen because of a child. I'm simply saying that we should understand the meaning of a marriage being the union of 2 people with completely different personalities, mood swings and bad tempers! Maybe if people remember that they are not always right, they are not the same, there will be differences and no one is perfect, just maybe people will not stop trying to work at it and be willing to forgive and reconcile.

So what happened? I wonder what God is saying.

In hopes for what used to be complete and beautiful,
Me

How much?

It's such a common phrase, it feels cliche to say it's common! But really, none of us is free from this question- whether you're asking "How much?" it costs, questioning "How much?" more can you take, or wondering "How much?" longer will it be.

One might think this question would get boring by now, but no- one of the most favourite questions we read in magazines posed to celebrities, entrepreneurs, business men... is always, "How much more before it's enough?"

Truly, in this world, especially when it comes to money, wealth, success- there's never "enough". But I'm not posting this to "preach" contentment, rather, to ask you dear reader- In light of so much in your life- be it fun, money, friends, sadness, sorrow, stress...

How much do you have in eternity?

A story goes...
There was a farmer bringing a visiting missionary to his church on a tour of his farm. He led him to the top storey of an old look out-post situated on a nearby hill where the view of his whole farm could be seen.

The farmer declared,"See this entire piece of land before your eyes? They are all mine- the horses, cows and sheeps; the fruit trees, crops and gardens. Even the large barns over there! I started out as a farm hand working for the original owner of this estate with nothing to my name! But clearly, all my years of investment- the hard work, toil and savings; has given me very much."

The missionary nodded quietly, pointed to the sky and said with a gentle smile,"Indeed, but may I ask, how much have you invested up there?"

Truly, if all is vanity (Quote: King Solomon) and life but a mist (Quote: James)- how much are we investing in eternity?


Having little yet much,
Mi.

Not enough, good enough?

Not enough time.
Not enough money. Not good enough.
Not pretty enough. Not smart enough. Not outstanding enough.

The list goes on....

No matter how much time, money or anything else, ironically, it'll never be enough. Then what is enough? When we've done a great job at something, its a great job. But why didn't we get there faster.

I guess it is human nature to want more whether its time, money or affection and attention, etc.

But the irony of God's teaching is selfless living. Where we give more than we can give, we say enough even if its little, and we say its amazing even when it's not the best.

So even if we don't have enough, ever wondered if its good enough?

Just enough for me,
Me

New Mercies for the New Year

First of all, Happy New Year!!

Secondly, sorry for being missing for so long.

Wow.. Time seems to have just flew by in a flash. Everything feels like it just happened yesterday. To think that this is the start of a whole new year. Questions on "How's this year going to be?" "What's going to happen this year?" "Will it be just as bad or will it be better?" would have occur in everyone's mind. The year ahead seems to be unknown and such a blur. To some, they have probably started planning how much to save, what to do, make new year resolutions and set goals for their year ahead. But who really knows what's going to happen. Before you know it, a month passes by, two months, half the year, then it'll be the end again.

The start of the year is the perfect time to reflect on the past. Its a time where we recall the lessons learned, reminisce the beautiful moments and collect the memories made. It is a time to realise that so much has passed, so much has happened and all of it had happened for every good reason God has decided. He has probably done so much for us in the past year and we will never even begin to know. He has probably thought us so much in the past year that we can't even remember every single lesson learned.

And these are the lessons that will continue to be taught to us until we truly learn and know it in our hearts. How many of us really look forward to wake up each day and see what God has to teach today? How many of us take note of what God is doing around us to help us grow? How many of us truly embrace the joy of the Lord every moment of the day to notice that His glory is manifested in the things that will only happen by His miracle? The answer is not many of us do. We tend to neglect God in our everyday lives. We tend to complain about the things that don't go well and things that are not in favour of us.

We fail to realise that everyday is a new day, and everyday His mercies are new. So in this new year, lets do something different for a change. How about doing something back for our Lord in magnifying Him and bringing Him glory through the way we live our lives. How about not complaining about our day and figure out why things happen the way they do. Maybe we could take the extra effort to notice God in our daily routine.

And just maybe, this year it wouldn't be so routine. Maybe by the end of this year, we can say we've come a distance with God. Only to strive to go further with God next year and the year after. The journey with God never ends.

To realise that till today, God is still with us, means everything. To know that till today, His mercies are new everyday, is priceless.

Awaiting gratefully for His new mercies for the New Year,
Me