Discipline

I read one quote today : He who lives without discipline dies without honour (Icelandic Proverb). Indeed it is true and a very wise saying. Discipline is part and parcel of life. Some will need to be more disciplined than the rest, obviously. It is only those sluggish ones who suffer in the long run. Months back, I read in a documentary book about a species sloth. They have short, flat heads; big eyes; a short snout; long legs; and tiny ears. On top of that, they also have stubby tails, usually 6–7 cm long. These mammals are capable of sleeping up to 18 hours a day!! That's absurd. Imagine us spending such long hours in sleeping. What's left are 6 hours. What can be done in that 6 hours?

So, it is indeed a wise to say that one who lives without discipline will die without honour. No one will remember how long we can sleep, rather how much we have contributed one way or another to the society.

The Reminder

"What is the most difficult thing to do as Christian? It is to bring the first person to Christ."

Echoing what Pastor has said this morning in his sermon. It is indeed true. To bring someone to Christ is the hardest thing to do. Still remember the first person I brought to Christ. Hardly know him as he was very much reserved then. The only time I would pass his room was when I needed to meet my friend in the hostel during my first semester in campus. But then, sometimes my friend was nowhere to be found. Soon, we became friends. When I found out that he has great interest in Bible, I grabbed that opportunity, offering Bible study to him. And lo and behold, soon he followed me to church. And on that morning, I felt Holy Spirit confirming that he has finally accepted Christ into his life.

Soon after that, I began reaching out to even more people by offering Bible study to anyone who would be interested. It was surprising though.... my knowledge about God wasn't deep then. But somehow I was able to share and teach using the Bible. Thanks to all those sherperding lessons and Bible Study sessions I had. Credit goes to all my respected leaders and peers. Truly value your partnership.

Reckon the STORMS

Been awhile since my last post. Reclining into the comfort of my own desk, my thoughts seem to drift to wanting to pen a thought down. In a way it is a sign of releasing my frustration over the careless mistakes made as I was marking their papers. It was either they were careless or they were just being indifferent. In anyhow this experience is sufficient for the Pen to ink down another post on STORMS.

Someone once said "Life's just a journey; full of bends, full of mysteries, and full of challenges." Hence, life is made of a number of STORMS that we as mortals must and should learn to adjust and to adapt for our own survival.

Struggles - Each of us have our own struggles in life. Be it having to fend for our living in the rat race, or be it having deadlines to meet daily, we cant possibly run away from them. Regardless of age, our struggles are there to mould us into better individuals, having learned the lessons of humility, pride, sense of urgency, sense of belonging and even sense of security.

Trials/Temptations - Life's all about choices and decisions that we have to make. Yes, there is no right or wrong decision. Nonetheless, we know what is right and what is wrong in this world where wrong seems to be right sometimes. Imagine a student facing a major examination paper today. Last night was his favourite football match (live telecast) in the wee hours of morning. He cant resist not to watch his favourite team performing on the field. He made a decision to stay up to watch, at the expense of his paper.

Opportunities - At some points in our lives, God allows some people to come into our lives, granting us some chances to learn and to develop ourselves. There will be some openings for us in terms of advancement in career, securing a top position in office, attending a world class conference, and the list goes on. The question now is "Are we prepared to assume such privileges?"

Recreations - The world we live in today has become a Global Village. Times are hard yet not without some "desserts". When we are STRESSED, we need some DESSERTS to calm our heart and mind. Yes, we need time of refreshing for our tired and fatigue souls after having a day full of deadlines to meet. We need to go back to our homes to be recharged, refreshed and rejuvenated.

Money matters - Nothing is free in this Concrete Jungle. You want to survive, you neeed cash with you. Depending on our purchasing power, we nourish our body with wants and needs. To some people, having a i-phone is a WANT, but to some, it is another NEED.

Solitude - The world societies have taught us that we need friends to keep us company. But, don't we realize that sometimes we need to be alone, time to reflect and respond whether we have achieved our goals in life. We need to come to bargaining with our mind, have we changed for the better or for worse.

Refreshed and Rejuvenated by Water

My previous blog talked on our lives being refined by fire. You might be wondering what is next in store? After the refining, a tough and challenging process, we need to be refreshed and rejuvenated by Water. Water, many times represents the WORD, which is the bread of our soul.

We need water to replenish our physical body. We need water to survive. Likewise our mind, after being refined by fire, it needs the nourishment from water to live on. At the same time, our heart needs to draw strength from somewhere. So, unless our mind has been refreshed, our heart will still be empty. I mentioned that our value system would be challenged daily. Hence comes the refining process. What about rejuvenation? Rejuvenation deals with our hunger for knowledge and thirst for character.

Knowledge in itself is useless unless we know how to apply it. If we know how to apply it, we are wise and we have good character. People of character not only will go far in life, achieving success after success, they will also make a significant impact on the quality of life. They will shine in times of difficulties. They will not shatter when there is a crisis. Even if they fall, they will rise again.

So, water test is a test of rejuvenation to our spirit, refreshing power to our mind and heart. Joshua 1:8 says "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Even in Ephesians 6, we are asked to put on the full armour of God, that will protect from head to toe. We need the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, buckle of truth, sword of the Spirit, sandals of peace, and the shield of faith. But wait, what about our back? There is no protection on our back.

Here comes the armour bearer. Amos 3:3 "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?". Hence, we cannot go through the water test alone. We need someone, and this person has to be someone who is able to rebuke us and at the same time encourage us. He or she will always intercede for us so that our feet will be geared towards the right direction.

A Refiner's Fire

Fire is said to be man's good friend but bad enemy. From the beginning of human civilization, fire, without doubt, is one of man's greatest discoveries. It is after all, the master of destruction from which comes renewal and refining of matters. Anything that comes into contact with it, will be burned into ashes of dust. Life, in a way, is seen as a series of fire tests.

Our lives are neither mundane nor routine. At times we are at the peak of our happiness, yet to reach joy. At some other times, we would be groping in the dark valleys, succumbing to our injuries, sorrows, despair, confusion, anxiety, and the list goes on. This is like a journey being tested by fire. It is in such times, we need to see a tiny beacon at the end of the tunnel. If we just continue towards that direction, we will soon discover, it is a great pillar of fire waiting to refine and to renew.

There's a Chinese saying : "Genuine gold will not be destroyed by fiery flame". Scriptures says in Romans 12:1-2, that we are to be renewed in our mind daily, not to conform any longer to the pattern of the world for we are living sacrifices. We need to examine our lives, to really dig out any impurities in us. Do we have a habit that needs to be rebuked and corrected? Any conflicts that need to be acknowledged and dealt with? Anything in our past that needs to be brought to light and renewed and then refined further so that the past has no grip on us anymore? Any unforgiven sins? Any reconciliation yet to be carried out? Are we involved in unhealthy relationship? What about our past glories? Have we been challenging the authorities set up, be it the law of the country, or at comfy home, or at busy workplace or at sheltered school?

We are very much motivated by our sight, aren't we? We wont believe something bad is going to happen until we face it ourselves. Not many of us are risk takers. But have we not realized it that many times we need to go through the Refiner's Fire Test, that is to take the step of faith? Just like Daniel and his 3 friends who went through the fiery furnace without being hurt. They were bold enough to step into it and they came out alive. I believe we don't need that kind of FIERY EXPERIENCE to wake us up.

The moment we gained the right to be children of God, our value system will be challenged. Our principles had been challenged so much that we have no other choice but to submit and obey. Our mind need to be renewed. Our spiritual man need to be rejuvenated, refreshed and refined. Yes, it is tough, almost an impossible task. Just like no individual can get close enough to a pillar of fire without protection, many of us wont dare to face the fiery tests of life without our armour.

Armour? What kind of armour? Our armour is simply the WORD of GOD. After all BIBLE is actually Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. We need to constantly challenge our selfish life principles with the highest standard of principles found in the BIBLE. Yes, we wont make it to the top, but at least we make sure we would want to pass the test of FIRE - A REFINER's WORK.

The Pen with new Inks to resume writing ...

As I reclined into the comfort of my couch, I couldn't help but to continue to ink down my thoughts on one of the chapters in our lives as rational beings. My previous blog talked about life's seen as many chapters of a book, JOURNEY. I have decided to continue to ink down more on TESTS, TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS, which will be reflected in the next few posts.

Life's but chapters of a book

July this year has proven to be one of the toughest months as there were two big events held at school this year. One was Report Card cum Entrepreneur's Day and the other was Speech Day. Now that both these twins have taken a rest, many breathed sigh relieved. In fact, for some, it has been a memorable one as they celebrate God's goodness, achieving their best in their fields of discipline. To those who have done well, well done and keep up the good work!! To the rest who did not yet make it to the hall of fame, don't give up. Continue to work hard, strengthen your weaknesses and maximise your strengths. God's sees every effort we put in. Life's got more to offer. Life's seen as the many unending chapters of a book - JOURNEY.

Somewhere within that book, JOURNEY, lies few chapters that dictate TESTS, TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS; these are seen as both friends and adversaries - for a man's greatest foe is the man himself. What's left of us is to grab a paint brush and paint some colours into our individual books, grab a pen and ink down our memories and grab a pencil perhaps to sketch some comedies.