Slippery Life

Have you ever wonder how easy a life can slip away ? Many of us do know the fragility of life but we do not realize how slippery it is. Let me explain. We are weak and powerless over the assurance of our life here on earth. We do not know whether we'll live another day tomorrow. We all realize that don't we? Yet, many of us do not cherish lives until we lose something or someone. And to cherish is to be thankful and grateful. To be grateful to who ? To the one who saves us. The one who watches over us by day and night. The one who never fail keep to His promises and words. The one who delivers us. And the one who dances over us while we are too caught up with 'life'.

Alright, that's all for today's sermon. I have something to share. Something to thank God for this week. Something I want to praise His name for. Here it goes. I was driving my car ( kancil ) along Jalan Niyor in a hot afternoon when suddenly I heard a loud noise from the underside of my car which became louder as I steered. I slowed down and tried to manoeuvre my car to the side of the road. The car behind me was very close. But good thing it managed to avoid me in time.

My car came to a standstill on some grass beside the road. I stomped on the accelerator and the car revved but motionless. I knew something was quite wrong. I got down and called my foreman. After a long wait in the scorching sun, the foreman finally arrived. He concluded that my left front wheel almost came out! The shaft , bearing and hub had completely wear out. That is really bad you know why ? Because , a few more meters and the tyre could have flung out and my car will immediately overturn. No wait, overturn while turtling. No kidding!! Oh yea, and it had to be towed.

The foreman, Eddie said something which rang the bell. ' Hey boy, you are very very lucky ' . And he said that 3 times. Well, I gulped as I imagined what would have happened to me. Then, I was reminded of Aunty Sze's sermon last week. Thankfulness. In my heart , I praised the Lord and I thanked him for his protection and covering. Indeed , this thankfulness and gratefulness had been translated into praise to God. And that is the true meaning of praise!!

As slippery as life is , I am reminded again. That God is full of grace and mercy. And for the little things He has given or done , be thankful. For bigger things are yet to come unless we are thankful for the little we have.

Confession

I love spongebob squarepants ! For those who don't know , I use to criticize the cartoon because I HEARD it was stupid, brain-wrecking , idiot-inducing , subclavian-snapping and scalp-tearingly terrible.

However, I took up the challenge to watch it. And I realised , it is just astonishing! You know, I sometimes think that this cartoon should be rated 'ages 16 and above'. Why ? Because the jokes and the substances of this cartoon are just so witty. So smartly put.

Amazingly, kids nowadays do understand the cartoon. Maybe they don't really truly understand but because of the silly animations and expressions of Spongebob and Patrick,it triggers the laughing chemical.

Recently, I went to Ryan's home. And I got hold of The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. My ! I had to watch it the second time. With my headphones on , my parents were wondering why I was giggling to my self for 1 hour plus in front of the computer. Yeah, I was caught red-handed.

They caught me watching Spongebob. They said I had a deprived childhood. I guess so , to a certain extent. I know someone who is as crazy as me over this whole spongebob thing , yes ! It's Ryan Nair. :D Glad that I am not alone.

Living For God

Today is gone
Like Yesterday is gone
Every second thorn
Like they were never born

In self if we trust
We'll likely to end last
In Him we must thrust
For we are mere dust

Wear on the life
For God you will dive
Give out your best
And in Him you'll find rest

A Tale of an ID10T

Have you ever felt like you've return to the pass in a spur of a moment ? The day feels exactly like the day when something eventful happened ? The atmosphere and the ambience feels so familiar? Well, I realize I had this today.And it was D-day. I'm serious. It happened in primary 2 after coming back from school.

Sitting in my kitchen facing the very spot where the event took place , I had a flashback. I remembered very vividly.........

Opens the gate very quietly , sneaking into the back door of the kitchen very very discreetly

Me ( thinking to myself ) : Ok, I'm going to make a rustle and wait for her to come to the door. I'm
going to hide by the edge and jump out just in time and scare the wigs out
of her.

*rustling*

Ama (my dear grandma) : Who is that ?!
Me : ( cheekily grinning )

She walks closer to the opened door

Me ( thinking to myself ) : This is it ! 1............ 2 ......... 3............. !

KADESH !!!!!!! DUBBB !!!!!!!!

Ama : Aiyo ........... Laniu , what are you trying to do ? Come come get up , get up ( holding me up)
Me : * crying *
Ama : Aiyo , poor thing ....... you trying to scare me is it ?
Me : * crying *
Ama : That's why la , I told you how many times don't be naughty. See now your forehead got
one ball dy. Wait wait , I go boil egg. You sit down
first , sit down first ar.........

Ama applies the hot egg on my swelling lump...........

Me : Ah...... Ouch...... Softer softer.
Ama : Good also la , now you learn your lesson. Next time don't try to scare
old ladies. Heaven got eyes one.

This was what happened , I tried to frighten my grandma. Just before I could jump out and scare her , I tripped on the edge of the longkang and found myself in the fellowship of stars. Well, of course that wasn't my last time attempting to give her a fright. I came out with other ways. However, it was something worth reminiscing about. Oh the good old days .........

Lighting Up The Dark

Let's say , you make a survey in your school or workplace regarding how different you are from the rest of your schoolmates or colleuges. And then you realize , majority of them said , you are just like anyone of them. No difference. How would you feel ?

Do you want to be labeled ordinary? Or you want people to have a life-changing encounter even when they first meet you. When we are called ' ordinary ' or ' just-like-anyone ' , that better be the time to wake up from slumber and get some gears kicking.

We are called to light up the dark , to shine in the absence of light. Hence, we must be careful to keep the fire burning or else our light would be snuffed out and we'll be like everyone else. The greatest fear of a Christian should be keeping himself/herself from winds of influence. The fire will grow weaker and the light dimmer when we start lifting our eyes off God and when we do not jealously guard our candles from strong winds.

We are set apart because we know the truth. And we are to share the truth. The basics of sharing lies in the way we live. Living out Jesus is not easy but I have to keep emphasizing this because people are still not listening. People are hearing but not listening. If we have pissed even our own brothers off , what would the world think of us? What first impressions do we give them ? No difference.

Let us really will and desire to be different , and that means putting all your effort in working it out. Attraction lies in the truth being lived out. So start living in Truth !!

Lady Wisdom

Who is she ? Is she familiar to you ? Actually , many of us have met her before. We probably couldn't recognize her because of the voices of other things bothering us. She is calling out , but do you hear her sweet , demure voice ?

Are we in the quest to seek her ? Many find but very few seek. She can only reveal herself more when we woo her. When we have set our hearts , and refocus our attention on her. Only then , she will be made known to her pursuers.

Wisdom like many spiritual gifts , is not something easily attainable unless you really want it , like how Solomon wanted it badly. And it was given. Of course, when you ask , you receive, but you have to act it out , practice it , polish it , establish it. Once you have it's foundation , only can God pour out more of His wisdom and make them known to you. New things , new insights and revelations.

Nevertheless , wisdom comes by through experiences. It needs to be practiced and tried. There will definitely be times in life where opportunities arises for us to apply the wisdom we have and that's how we know at what level we are practicing wisdom when it is concerned, though it's measures are very subjective.

However, our main guideline for wisdom is the Word of God. So, though subjective, it won't be very far-fetched. If you get what I mean.

We can distinguish a person who has wisdom from a person who has only knowledge. A person with only knowledge will be more vulnerable to pride. As he attains more head-knowledge , he becomes more critical in thinking which eventually leads to pride if not careful.

On the other hand, wisdom is just the opposite. Wisdom is when we translate our knowledge into action , when we apply teachings and morals , when we master the art of ' walking the talk'. Wisdom concerns our everyday lives , the way we act , the words we say and our thoughts. It is a life of integrity and morality.

Let us seek for Lady Wisdom!!

Are we to judge ?

You know often, when we see a person clad smartly walking down the street , we think to ourselves, " He must be doing well " or " I think he's a rich man" or " I can't wait to see what he drives!".

On the contrary , when we see a beggar wandering around , barely covering their body with enough cloth , our first reactions are " Ew....... I wonder how he smells like " or " He better not come near me" or " Gosh , who is he ? " . Those reactions are very natural , very human. We judge what we see. As simple as that. First , we look , then the possibilities wrestle in our minds and we come out with conclusions about what we perceive of other people.

I was in a mamak stall one day , alone. Having a cup of teh tarik while enjoying the evening breeze. As I was sipping my hot cup of teh tarik, a man of small stature walked pass me and sat right in front of me , the opposite table. The first thing that ran through my mind , ' Is he Chinese , Indian , Malay or some Vietnamese ? " He didn't have a very distinct feature that enable me to distinguish. And then , he ordered something from the mamak stall worker , and again I stretched my ears forth to hear his accent. But he was too soft. "Oh well ..... Shouldn't I mind my own business ? " I thought.

Minutes passed.........

Another guy , his friend appeared. Now, his friend has the same small frame. He sat down , mumbled something foreign , and laughed discreetly. That's interesting. Another unidentified race. I took out my phone , pretended to sms and peeped at them while they were chatting. The man who came later , looked pretty decent.

His shirt had a blue printed italic font " Jesus ". " Cool ! " I thought , he must be Christian. My hopes were soaring high and I even thought of making friends with them. Until , he lifted up his shirt to reveal a huge metal skull belt he was wearing around his waist . Yeah , how oxymoron. I gave him the benefit of doubt. He reached out in his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes and began his puffing.

Maybe he is not Christian after all , but wait. Maybe he is a Christian but fell away? Or he might be an unborn Christian ? Or maybe he IS a Christian ?

I finished my cup of tea and walked away.