The Greatest Sacrifice in History!

"He had to die so that we might live". I know I'm reiterating the famous statement on the right that all of you see every time you visit my blog, but because 4/4/2010 is also Easter Sunday, I felt like emphasizing it. =)

Newaez, Yours Truly juz got back from Easter Sunday service at City Harvest Church JB. It was a good one, and not juz because of the great company (Rachel and Nick... haha sorry Grace, you juz happened not to come with us today, but I understand). Pastor CK delivered a memorable message; and usually, I don't really give credit to sermons on my blog, if there were any to begin with. There were 3 instances in his sermon which really touched me on a spiritual and emotional level, and I'm pretty sure it touched both "NicHel" as well. Haha, kudos if you got that! =D The following is what I mean:

#1: A really powerful, heart-seeking, message-inspiring video about the power of forgiveness. The video showed a man visiting his father behind what seemed like a prison centre, where visitors are allowed to see and make contact with the inmates/death row convicts across a transparent bulletproof-glass-like structure. His father had neglected, rejected and made use of his son, and displaced his trust in the process. The man expressed all these not by verbal words, but by words written on flash cards: "You neglected me", You rejected me", etc. His second last card showed us why: the father had killed his wife, the son's mother. All this while, both parties were in tears and wrought with sadness, grief, and regret. His final card showed that although the son was deeply hurt, he forgave his father.

#2: This is an analogy of God the Father's decision to sacrifice his one and only begotten Son, Jesus, on the cross to pay the price for our sins. It tells the story of a father who worked at a local train station who brought his 6-year old son to work one day. The father allowed his son to play by himself as long as he was within a safe distance from the railroad tracks and within sight. However, the father got tired as the hours went by. What he did not realise was that his son was unknowingly moving closer and closer to the tracks as time went by. When he finally realised this, his son was already at a foot's length away from falling over. Then, the inevitable happened. The son fell onto the rail tracks and his foot got stuck in it. However at that very moment, a train was heading exactly in that direction towards his son. Both father and son panicked. One good thing was that the track leading up to his son was split into two separate tracks (let's call them Track A1 and A2: the one his son was stuck in was A1). The person controlling the flow of trains (which was the father) could alter the wedgie at will to make the train go in the other direction by the push of a button. Also, the train could only be controlled, started and stopped by the conductor inside the train. Unfortunately, Track A2 was closed due to fatal faults to the lining and structure and still under major repair. So as you can see, the father now had 2 options: push the button and let hundreds, maybe thousands, of people die, or not push it and let his son die. He had less than 10 seconds now to decide what to do. With sweat trickling down his face, the father froze in place. Both his heart and brain were in a heated debate: the former telling him to push the button to save his son's life, while his brain sought to reason with the logic of killing 1 to save a thousand. Finally, as adrenaline continued circulating in his body, he did not push the button even though every muscle in his body wanted to... He let his son perish to save the many lives aboard the train.

#3: The final instance is a comparison of humans and sin to ants and honey. Ants, as we all know too well, are attracted to sweet things like sugar. Some of us are like ants too, with a sweet tooth as people call it, but that's beside the point. Honey is a food made by certain insects. It is sweet, and ants love it. However, it is also sticky, and when any ant attempts to soak itself in it, or merely collect a bit of it, the ant will get trapped in the substance, with no chance of escape forever. The life of that particular ant as we all know it, will cease to exist from that point onwards. In the same way, honey is like sin. For humans to resist sinning is like telling an ant to resist collecting honey. Once caught in sin, forever a sinner. Even the strongest-willed of human beings are not perfect, and like the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". However, we can rejoice in the fact that the chains of sin binding us are gone when we accept Christ as personal Lord & Saviour for what He did for us on the cross. =D Hallelujah!!

Yeah, so I hope these 3 instances will benefit one and all to rethink Easter as a whole. It's not about Easter bunnies or Easter eggs per se, but rather about the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day. Christ has conquered death, so that through Him, we may conquer death as well! Have a great Easter and an awesome week ahead, dudes & dudettes!!

Blessings,

~Tim~

Test of Faith

~ What doesn't kill you makes you stronger ~

~ Adversity doesn't build character as much as it reveals it ~

I think both statements can be true if you don't waste your pain.

Pain, obstacles and adversity: the anvil on which your character is forged. Everything has a cause and effect.

Some people say that pain is all in the mind, and if you can suppress it mentally, you will not even feel it. However, what if it is mental pain i.e. anxiety, anguish, fear, depression, etc.

If you fail to learn from the pain, but choose bitterness and anger, the next adversity you face will reveal the shallowness of your character and faith.

God can indeed use adversity to build your faith and make you a stronger man. But He can also use those "life-storms" as a proving ground for your faith.

Answer the following questions for yourselves:

What are your biggest fears?

What causes you the most pain in life?

Do you have doubts about your purpose and direction in life?

What is faith and/or what does it mean to you?

More importantly, ponder over EE's 2 diagnostic questions:

#1: Have you come to a place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to heaven, or is that something you would say you're still working on?

#2: Suppose you were to die today and stand before God and He were to say to you, "Why should I let you into My heaven?" what would you say?

As you reflect over both critical questions, I hope you have confidence in your answers and the assurance of the Holy Spirit, especially those who know Christ. I know for certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that I do! Think about it!

~Tim~

Heaven

Finally, I'm posting again!! As my blog faithful would know, the lack of posts on my blog over the last two weeks (sigh, it has been that long huh?) has been due to the fact that I was BUSY BUSY BUSY studying for my mid-sem exam which I juz sat for 2 days ago. Yeah, I know I could have updated earlier, but betta late than never right? :P Anyway, I promise you that this post is going to be a feast for the eyes (yes, I know some of you are scrolling down already! :D), and my "post-exam post" is not going to be mainly about pictures with people (unlike Terence's) or as short as Jun Yet's LOL! :)

Newae, I know most of you would have come across the question: "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" before. There's the typical "saint" answers like "Oh, I would donate it to the poor!" or "I would sponsor a campaign or fund an organisation that stands for good works!" etc. Still, more "honest" ones would admit that they would use it for themselves or people close to their hearts. Whatever your choice, chances are, how often would one actually win such a large amount of cash?

Personally, if I ever get hold of one million dollars (or Ringgit after conversion ;P), I would decide to travel the world. Most of my life has been spent in Malaysia, a tropical country where it's humid all the time; where food lovers all around the world come to taste juicy cuisines and savour the results of fine culinary skills that make this country a gastronomic heaven; where we are renowned to have the tallest twin towers in the world; and where the political scene is but the butt of jokes worldwide. Ahh.. Malaysia! Malaysia! 20 years I have spent on Malaysian soil, how long more will it be before I get my opportunity to roam the world?

There's a whole world to see, feel and experience out there. From Paris, the city of love; to the vast urban jungle of the Big Apple (NYC); and there's the crisp and fresh air of the mountainous Swiss Alps. Then there's the global city of entertainment: Las Vegas; the luscious savannas of the African continent; and the beautiful reefs of Australia's waters. I could go on about everything I feel like doing that's within my somewhat vast knowledge of Geography... but what's the point? It's something I can juz dream about right now. Maybe someday my dream will come true, and if it is according to God's plan, I'll fulfill it with a special someone.

In the meantime, I can juz look at beautiful photographs of urban jungles all around the globe and admire the amazing concrete and metallic works of man's hands, and the magnificent lighting that usually encompasses them. Thus, I've included some pics of my favourite and most beautiful cities in the world for your viewing pleasure:

And presenting, last but not least, Kuala Lumpur!

Oops!! Sorry, nothing to see... TNB cut off the power supply!! :D

But you know what, the city of Heaven is greater and far more superior than any city than any man can ever build. Even the most advanced and modern cities face many problems. Pollution (at least thermal and sound), crime, health problems, and decreasing area of land for development are juz some of these problems.

On the other hand, the Bible in Revelation 21:1-4 says that Heaven (the Holy City of God) is a city of NO PROBLEMS: No death, sorrow, crying or pain! Scholars have visualised Heaven as a city where the streets are made of gold! Best of all is that we will finally get to see our Father who will dwell amongst all who are chosen to be saved in the name of Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross for a purpose: to save all mankind from the grip of sin. Oh, and admission into Heaven is a gift from God to men. In other words, it's free! You don't have to win a million bucks to get there. All you have to do is pray and accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your life and live according to what He says in the Bible.

Unfortunately for some, they will never see the beautiful city of Heaven. The Bible says that death awaits those who do not believe in Christ, our Saviour King. John 8:51 says, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

For those who know me and wanna find out more about what is stated above regarding Heaven and issues pertaining to it, feel free to drop me a message so that I can liaison with you, if possible (I'm in KL now). Oh and FYI I'm joining the Evangelism Explosion or EE, a global movement that aims to fulfill the Great Commission. This is going to be a leap of faith for me too as it not only requires a passion to serve others through evangelism, but it's going to require commitment and time for a good 13 weeks or so!

Yeah, I guess that's all I'm gonna write for this post-exam post of mine. For those that wanna know, my exam went alright, and I found the questions easier than the ones I sat for during the mid-year (probably because I didn't blog since I started my proper revision LOL!). However, I'm glad the Lord saw me through the 1st sem, and I know He'll see me through the rest of the year! :)

~Tim~