Ragsstudio | Things That Make The Biggest Difference

Was at the Cliff Richard’s show last night at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Wow, he’s fit for someone who’s 73. Get into how he stayed fit for 50 years in the business and faith has something to do it too.

This is Patrick’s life story ….

“Haunted by the judgement of a few. Hindered to truly bless many”

Patrick is fictitious, he is just an analogy for many of us.

Our secular concepts can be plugged by orthodoxy and religion?

Alain De Botton did a fantastic job to share some interesting things to help us re-consider the original intent of organising our life based on believing in a system of divinity.

Religion is not as irrelevant in the contemporary society as individualism has led us to think. As Alan quoted our secular world has secularized badly and is in need of help like children. The answer is not in religion presented by religious people as well but in the source of why its there in the first place;.. The divinity or guidance of God Himself.

To live is the decision not to live by fear but by faith. It is a decision and a declaration that it is in God we place our trust and not things that falter. The journey of faith begins only with this first step.

It’s not how good we are now but if we are willing to be in the crazy journey of faith building. In these last few years I’m doing these stuff,  I know how important a solid decision is.  Start it! Many say they want to but not many decide to enough to take humble actions towards a life of faith.

I believe a life of faith is possible when we know who we are placing our trust on and then just start it with the next humble step.

What’s your next humble step?

Mine is a humility to say I’ll start it by radically praying my way towards it. I’ve never felt my prayer life stronger than it is right now. I’m praying all kinds of prayers and God has been so good to me … to lead me here.

Doing some work on the coming message for Family Life. Kept thinking about June 13 1998 where I declare the best decision I’ve ever made in my life other than giving my life to Jesus.

Cannot be anymore grateful, she’s the one.

My new car was due for its first servicing. Took it to the Subaru’s workshop on my off day. Its barely a month old so it  shouldn’t take more than 2 hours. I was wrong.  It’s took the whole 4 hours of my day.  Usually people use such unexpected gift of extra time searching for things to do.  In other words we waste it (or kill it for the more dramatical oriented). Normally that’s what I do, but yesterday I used it to

1. Listen to God.

Prayer is never wasted activity. Intimacy returns to us bountifully whether it’s our spouse, family, pets or God. Prayer cannot be just telling God what we want to say because doesn’t He already know in the first place? Prayer is also hearing his heart and listening to what he wants to say for us to do.

2. Like some Facebook posts.

Like some posts and whatsapp people, message them, reply their emails and do this thing call social networking. Yes it can be a waste of time but it can also be meaningful and fun. We have to be serious about fun because the habit of fun makes us do serious things better.

3. Learn something new

I found myself listening to Michael Hyatt’s podcast “This is Your Life”. Learn so much what can be applied immediately to be a better leader. With an intention to learn this way, it’s strange to think of the idea of killing time because there’s always something we can learn to do something better everyday. What great podcast, books, people do you listen to?

4. Work on my serious something

Doing a sermon on marriage in November for our Family Life series so its duty for me read  Gary Thomas’s Sacred Marriage again. Carried this book with me, so extra time is essential time to do this. Going to dive into Mark Driscoll’s Real Marriage after this one and re-read Tim Keller’s The Meaning of Marriage after that. And of course going to the bible to hear what God wants to say on a subject we all think we know enough but our lives just doesn’t seem to show that we got enough of it. Preparing for a sermon is serious work and the time to work on the next serious thing should be always on our mind with increasing intensity until the day it here. It’s the same process if you are a student preparing for exams, the best time to start was yesterday, the next best time is now.

We are always interested to find our passion. We end up looking high and low for new things to do rather than faithfully working on the mastery to what we are already doing. Growing this way is hard because the passion is often elusive.  The car was ready at 3 pm when I collected it. It was just in time to send my second daughter to her maths tuition for another 1.5 hours of waiting time. With that extra time, had the idea of writing this post and wrote it with joy meaningfully. Is this a waste of time? Reflective writing never is for me.

So what’s not a waste of time for you the next time you have the unexpected gift of time?

Thinking about the city of Athens in Greece. Classical Athens and Modern Athens, a centre of finance, philosophy, culture and arts. What if its systems are oiled by everything Godly? Wouldn’t it be like heaven on earth?

Ever feel stuck?

I do. All the time. That’s when writing about being stuck makes me less stuck.

See I’m less stuck now.

If we pray to God about being stuck, I believe it moves us beyond less stuck. It transforms us by putting stuck in the past and freedom of who we are in Christ be present.

Our God is not merely a blank page to write on or a sounding board to vent our frustration, He’s a God who really cares. He listen, smiles and will do something about prayers of people He loves.  He is that cool to care to deal with all the stuck and suck in life.

Last weekend, we preached the best sermon ever in Hope. That’s because we didn’t preach at all. 1900 of us went to clean up homes and surroundings of one room flats around Kampung Glam Community.

Serving with our hearts is passionate preaching. Love this spirit St Francis of Assissi left us.

A Bonsai tree is meant to be a big tree.  It is put into smaller pots so that it’s growth is stunted to fit into a decorative pot … and look pretty.

In life its useless to be manipulated pretty.  We are not to be like bonsais (or poodles?) where there’s a limit to growth.  Rather we are to be strong and courageous like a big oak tree where the potential to grow is as big and majestic as it possibly can to provide food and shelter to many.

True growing accompanied by the development of inner character is a great way of live as there’s no greater pursuit that that towards personal holiness. So don’t go complacent but look to the potential you have in Him. Keep growing as God has placed no ceiling to it. Surely you’ll have a ball of a time doing it.