Ricochet

¹⁸ I cried out, “I am slipping!”
    but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
¹⁹ When doubts filled my mind,
    your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

²⁰ Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—
    leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
²¹ They gang up against the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.
²² But the Lord is my fortress;
    my God is the mighty rock where I hide.
²³ God will turn the sins of evil people back on them.
    He will destroy them for their sins.
    The Lord our God will destroy them.

Psalm 94:18-23

It is a time of ricochet. a time of boomerang.

In The Passion Translation, verse 22 till 23 read as,

But I know that all their evil plans will boomerang back to them!

(Every evil plan of insect eating, lab-grown meat, climate crisis, coastal flooding, digital currency, pandemic crisis, LGBTQ agenda, death by vaccines)

Every plot they hatch will simply seal their own doom!

For you, my God, you will destroy them, giving them what they deserve.

For you are my true Tower of Strength,

my Safe Place, my Hideout, and my true Shelter.

Let there be removals, collapse, dismantling of the wicked system.

Because the first verse of Psalm 94:1-4 NLT read as.

¹ O Lord, the God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth!
² Arise, O Judge of the earth.
    Give the proud what they deserve.
³ How long, O Lord?
    How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat?
⁴ How long will they speak with arrogance?
    How long will these evil people boast?

Photo by Monstera on Pexels.com

Photo by Phyo Hein Kyaw on Pexels.com

Adrian Tan, 7th December 2022/ 13th of Kislev 5783

Wading Through Weeds

I was clearing some weeds this week,

Some is an understatement, they multiply at a rate of 17,200 a week.

In an hour, I scooped 2 bags of it, that is, when i don’t talk and just concentrate on skimming over the pond surface and scooping it out, they are heavy when wet, and it was certainly a workout of lifting my arms.

I find a parallel in clearing the duck weeds.

Those weeds crowded out the pond surface, they stick to the roots of trees and the undersides of plants, they compete for sunlight, water, air and nutrients.

Same it is with our lives, things, baggage’s, sin weighs us down, making the race hard and heavy.

Stunned our growth.

Only be removing the weeds can i get to see the beautiful flowers that greets me each morning.

There may never be 100% weedless, sinless life, but may we shine forth like we are supposed to.

Using the allegory of clearing weeds as taking out the unimportant things in our life, including the deceitfulness of riches and cares of this world.

He answered, He Who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed means the children of the kingdom; the darnel is the children of the evil one,

³⁹ And the enemy who sowed it is the devil. The harvest is the close andconsummation of the age, and the reapers are angels.

⁴⁰ Just as the darnel (weeds resembling wheat) is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of the age.

⁴¹ The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of offense persons by whom others are drawn into error or sin] and all who do iniquity and act wickedly,

⁴² And will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth.

⁴³ Then will the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears [to hear] be listening, and let him consider and perceive and understand by hearing.

Matthew 13:38-43

and earlier in the passage,

Another parable He set forth before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵ But while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed also darnel (weeds resembling wheat) among the wheat, and went on his way.

²⁶ So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the darnel (weeds) appeared also.

²⁷ And the servants of the owner came to him and said, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how does it have darnel shoots in it?

²⁸ He replied to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and weed them out?

²⁹ But he said, No, lest in gathering the wild wheat (weeds resembling wheat), you root up the [true] wheat along with it.

Matthew 13:24-29 AMPC

I hope you are blessed.

A Matthew 6:26 Moment

I was just strolling along the garden with my firstborn daughter .

And I noticed two little sparrows, with food in their beak.

And a Scripture came into my mind.

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

Matthew 6:26 AMPC

This line just rings inside me.

“and yet your heavenly Father feeds them”

Which immediately leads me to the next line

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33 #TheDivinePriority

I hope you are bless.

Wednesday 26th April 2017

The Still Small Voice

And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.

When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

1 Kings 19:11-13 AMPC

I like the fact the God did not try to speak to Elijah when there was chaos around.

I like the fact that it was an audible voice, a gentle still, small voice.

It would be unmistakable.

It would be so clear.

It would make a lasting impression.

May we, may I , learn to hear the gentle, still, small voice of God in the midst of our chaos .

26th February 2017

 

I am a child of God

One of the most important identity that God may want us to know, is that we are His children.

He wants us to approach Him with child-like faith.

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

Mark 10:13-16 NKJV

We need to learn to have lesser worries and anxieties, like a child.

A child expect his / her father to protect, provide and care for them.

We may have earthly fathers , but we all have a heavenly Father.

One of the most precious identity we need to embrace is that we are a child of God.

We are His beloved.

When we grow up , we became saddled with more fears and anxieties.

We need to be a child again.

Let me learn to ask God openly again.

Let me learn to trust God unconditionally , again.

Let me learn to find joy in the simple things , again.

Let me delight in calling my father ‘Daddy!” just like how Eloise would  greet me everyday  (almost) at the door when I come back home after usually physically tiring days and nights.

Let me learn to pray , really simple prayers, again.

Let me learn to reach to God, instead of reaching for my own understanding.

Beloved means to be esteemed, considered dear, favourite and worthy of love.

Jesus died and rose again to make all that possible for you and me.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

I John 3:1-2 NKJV

(Photos taken during December 2016)

I hope you are bless.

Tan Kok Siang,

9th February 2017

 

 

 

 

 

A picture of two yokes

In the Book of Jeremiah, it speaks about God foretelling Jeremiah and the people of Israel and Judah, the coming captivity of seventy years in Babylon.

It speaks of impending doom because the fathers and people of Israel refused to worship God alone, and turn to many idols and detestable practices that God abhors.

In His anger, God decided to seal their fate by war, famine and pestilences in a siege laid by the Babylonians

It was not a pretty picture, full of war, destruction, sufferings and written horrors of depravity.

God did that to preserve loyal remmants of His people, who would once again come back to Israel, flourish again and worship Him only.

It was a graphic picture of being under the bondage of sin and idolatry and being put under the yoke of the Baylonians slave masters for seventy years!

“Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them on your neck, and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant;

Jeremiah 27:1-6

Next , I would like to make a big time jump over to The New Testament and go to Matthew 11:28-30, it shows a more promising picture

Here Jesus was speaking;

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The yoke here is a Jewish picture of burden.

It is comparable to the heavy yokes resting on the bullocks’ necks; a balance, pair of scales.

It speaks of us co-labouring with Jesus Himself.

Jesus was describing Himself as a servant too!

And He wants us to come alongside Him and share the burden, so that it will be bearable for us.

It speaks to those of us who are laden, tired out, burned out, on the verge of giving up.

And Jesus declare in the midst of toiling, He will give us rest!

Resting is also by faith! Without faith, we are aimless workers.

Without a yoke from Jesus, we are just a lone oxen out in the field. Not doing any productive work, in farming speak.

The oxen role is to plough, God will make the rest grow!

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:5-8

And very quickly in the following chapter twelve, Jesus is not interested in religion!

In a quick glance, it would be, Jesus knows all our toil and burdens, but He said He will help us to lift them up, and put it on beside us in our work, in our family, in the ploughing of the harvest fields, literally or figuratively in soul winning.

We need to be tied with Jesus, Without Jesus, we are just doing hard labor here on earth, we do our part, He will fulfill His part.

I hope you are bless.

26th September 2013

Pictures taken from open net.

Our fears are redeemed by Jesus.

Recently, I was shuffling between faith and fear,

I was two weeks in the dump because of an impending military court case & a health issue.

Then God reminded me of fear and courage, (21st August 2012).

As an believer, many times, we let fear, get to us,

That is because the Devil had succeeded, abeit temporary, in distracting us away from the word of God, His word and His promises.

We became narrow-minded, tunnel-visioned,  and focus on the circumstances, instead of Jesus, and what He had done on the cross.

Fear causes psychosomatic reactions.

As an Officer in the army, I have seen that fear paralyzes! Even on grown, muscular men!

They could cramped up, vomit, cramped up again, some of their faces turn pale, and eventually , many gave up before or during a tough exercise. Giving up almost certainly guarantee a long time of shame, guilt, and condemnation.

We need to soldier on, we need to walk on like a good soldier of Christ! We should not give up. (2 Timothy 2:3)

Conversely, hope fires up the brain and form new circuitry in the brain. (Dr Caroline Leaf)

Faith and hope are very powerful, unseen forces. (Hebrews 11:1)

It is our faith that will overcome the world, (1 John 5:4) and all the difficulties that we will face.

Isaiah 53: 4-5

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

That means;

# Pain is redeemed on the cross, amen

# Sadness is redeemed on the cross,

# Affliction is redeemed on the cross,

# Our sins, big and small, knowing or unknowing, were redeemed on the cross.

# Troubles and heaviness is redeemed on the cross,

# Diseases and sickness is redeemed on the cross.

Nothing is impossible when we put our trust in God.

The fears that we fear, fears God! (Kong Hee)

Be strong and of good courage! (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:6)

What are the fears you are facing now?

Looking unto Jesus today.

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

7 disasters & the just shall live by faith.

Habakkuk lived in Judah during the reign of Jehoiakim ( 2 Kings 23:36-24:5)

He prophesied betwen the fall of Niveveh, Asyria in 612 B.C. and the Babylonian invasion of Judad in 588 B.C.

Saddened by the violence of the Babylonians, he poured out his grievances, complaints & questions to God. 

God answered him in the second chapter,

and it was written boldly;

“See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness – Habakkuk 2:4 NIV

Now after the invasion , war, & now crops failures!

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk continues to live by faith!

He even make a decision to rejoices!

And be joyful!

Think about that?!

Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach & Abed-Nego in the captivity in Babylon, refused to bow, &  were thrown into a fiery furnace! And God saves them! 

Paul wrote rejoice! While he was still in prison. (Philippians 1:18)

The just shall live by faith!

In the closing verse, Habakkuk wrote,
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights. (Hak 3:18)

Continue to proclaim God as your strength.

And even like the deer, that is preached precariously on the steep hills,

God will enable us to have a sure footing.

 

Now the just shall live by faith;But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. Hebrews 10:38

 

And as we confess & proclaim, strength & faith will rise up inside us.

I hope you are bless

We also honor in our sufferings. Because He is near.

Recently, in the month of April 2012, in the midst of suffering & grieve, I remembered this verse.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Paul was almost saying, I take pleasure in my trials & suffering.

It has become an honor to suffer.

It could be grievances, a loss, a heartbreak.

I went thru job switch, job loss, monetary loss, loss of a loved one. 

In the midst of our grieving, God is there with us.

And He is our comfort. And a very present source of help.

In Psalm 94:17-19 , a psalmist wrote about the comforts & assurance of God in the midst of enemies, difficulties, mistakes & anxieties.

Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
¹⁸ If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
¹⁹ In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.

God IS our comfort.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

So, take heart, and know that God is near. 

April 2012

Tan Kok Siang

you wait, God acts. Isaiah 64:4

Isaiah 64:4

For since the beginning of the world
Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.

Waiting is difficult for us,

It wars against the flesh and soul.

The spirit longs for God to act.

But the scriptures says that God will act, when we wait!

Waiting develops patience,

It is a required fruit & product of the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9,

But as it is written:

“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Notice Paul wrote that God has already prepared,

God is not caught off guard,

Nor has God not pre empt us,

He knows the beginning and the end.

Some of God’s promises will be fulfilled in eternity. (Rick Warren)

He will cause ALL things to work out. 

 

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.  Isaiah 43:19

 
Hope you are bless.