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This morning I closed the little blue book that I have held in my hands so very often over the last two weeks. I had just finished reading The Heavenly Man ("THM"), a book on the true life accounts of Chinese Christian, Liu Zhenying, more popularly known as Brother Yun.
THM took me on a roller coaster ride through Brother Yun's life. If there is a book that you must read (besides the Bible that is), this is it! Read it and be prepared to be challenged!!
It began with how he as a young lad witnessed his father's miraculous healing by Christ, and how he then decided to follow Christ in faith.
It spoke of his passion for the Lord, and how he fervently sought the Lord and hungered for His Word.
It told of the remarkable growth of the Chinese Christian church and the incredible opposition that followed, physical and spiritual, from within and without.
It relayed details on the persecution, pain and suffering that Brother Yun and many other Chinese Christians went through, and how during those times they still glorified the Lord with their testimonies.
It put me to shame as I read about how Brother Yun faithfully obeyed the Great Commission by witnessing for Christ everywhere he went, even in the prisons when he was undergoing great persecution.
It humbled me as I was reminded how our churches have much silver and gold, but had lost much of its zeal for the Lord.
It showed me despite all the wrong and suffering in the world, we have a God who is still in control today! His ways may not be our ways, but God's timing is always perfect!
***
An excerpt from The Heavenly Man:-
"We have also come to understand that the past thirty years of suffering, persecution and torture for the house churches in China were all part of God's training for us...
Once I spoke in the West and a Christian told me, "I've been praying for years that the Communist government in China will collapse, so Christians can live in freedom." This is not what we pray! We never pray against our government or call down curses on them. Instead, we have learned that God is in control of both our own lives and the government we live under. Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, "The government will be on his shoulders." - Isaiah 9:6
God has used China's government for his own purposes, moulding and shaping his children as he sees fit. Instead of focusing our prayers against any political system, we pray that regardless of what happens to us, we will be pleasing to God.
Don't pray for the persecution to stop! We shouldn't pray for a lighter load to carry, but a stronger back to endure! Then the world will see that God is with us, empowering us to live in a way that reflects his love and power.
This is true freedom!"
***
Great stuff eh? Certainly helps us see things in a different light.
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly. - Proverbs 15:2
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit. - Proverbs 15:4
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles. - Proverbs 21:23
Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity, the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. - James 3:4-6
***
I've learnt that sometimes it's better to keep silence than to defend oneself.
Of yet another round of Christmas food binging...
Of leftovers that never tasted better...
Of Benny's catchphrase of the night, "Drip and die!"...Of Za's good christmas-tree-design watermelons...
Of Marie's bad christmas-tree-design watermelons...
Of a pink ostrich strutting around nonchalantly...
Of the screamer Wong sisters at the foosball table...
Of sleek moves on a PS2 dancemat...
Of the scrubbing of floors and Za washing Lala's feet...
Of a great time or worship and prayer...
Of fancy ribbons and kaleidoscopic wrapping paper...
Of presents ranging from the conservative to the zany...
Of our introduction to the latest in the Pooh collection, Stripper Pooh...Of Anderson, the Ballerina Princess in a pink tutu...
Of a gathering of close friends...
It was.
Is Christmas an occasion for gluttony? Or is it a huge marketing gimmick designed to milk every penny from our pockets?
I like the food!
I like the presents!
But let's not forget that...
Christmas is Jesus.
A sprawling corporate booth...
A hearty lunch...
A sleepy afternoon...
A speaker drones on about organisational efficiency...
Just some excerpts of day spent at the Palm Garden Resort, Putrajaya for the National CEO Summit 2004.
Just another hour and a half to go =)
Sometime between 3.30 a.m. and 6.00 a.m. last night, I dreamt peculiar dreams.
It was something of an "Alfred Hitchcock slasher meets Stephen King horror" kind of dream.
Yup, I'm weird.
Memories are vague right now, but I remember a lot of blood and gore, with senseless mass killings in a building. Think it was a house. My house me thinks.
I remember that several cars were stolen, so I guess this must have been a robbery cum murder thingy. I think most of my family members were dead, except for maybe my dad, whom I remember was still with me before I woke up. There was also this creepy feeling that surfaced on and off throughout this dream...the feeling that "something" was lurking around, hence the Stephen King horror part.
I also remember that I was spared. The reason's a little cliché...
Just as the baddies were approaching me, one of them saw my tattooed arm and turned "best-friend" just like that, coupled with slaps on the back, bear hugs...ughh. Yeahh...I killed your family but now I see your tat and we're best of friends! =p It was with that that he let me off, with my dad who was still with me.
If dreams could be interpreted sensibly (not any new-age inanities pls), I would like to know.
THE SUN!!
It felt odd leaving the office on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
Different.
Almost deja vu.
And then I realised...
...that I could see the sun!
Ok ok...no big deal for most, but BIG-A-DEAL for me 'cos I've been so used to leaving the office late...really LATE.
Seeing wispy clouds and birds dotting the sky at 6.15 p.m. in the evening was an experience relived.
Those crazy days are OVER...well, at least for the time being.
But that's good enough for me.
