time flies and it's already term 3 week 2..
while my results hadn't been fantastic, i still thank the LORD for His sustenance, grace and mercy upon me. my math and cll had improved greatly, and it was because the LORD had been with me, encouraging me through His Word. thinking back, it wasn't easy that i found nurhanah to help me with math. i recall how i prayed for God's guidance as i studied on my own and find a tutor. and God answered really quickly, bringing nurhanah to me, and she has been of great help for the past few months, sacrificing time and effort to help this junior who wasn't close to her at all. nc had also been encouraging, and one thing he said that kept coming to my mind was, "don't go to us anymore". what he meant was math US remedial programme coz i failed my math thru'out last yr. indeed, the LORD works in my life through circumstances and ppl, even those unexpected ones.
10.06.08 yet another sad date to be added on the already depressing list.
2 yrs ago, my aunt and grandma passed away one after another in 6 months, both to our surprise. till now, i've no idea just what caused their death. on 10th of june this year, my brother, 20, left us. i had missed sending him off to BMT, and we were waiting for him to come back after 2 weeks. more importantly, i had planned to share the Gospel with him then. i had asked my pastor for advice as to how i should go about reaching out to him, and i read the necessary verses to prepare myself. never did i expect him to collapse and just leave us 5 days after he went in, just 5!! while i was on my way there, i prayed to the LORD to grant me a chance to just share the Gospel with my bro, even if it means i had just a little short while, that was all i asked for. however, the LORD had it all planned, that He would take away my bro's life.
while i grieved the departure of my bro as i knew he was destined for hell, having rejected the LORD, i accepted the fact that he had left. the LORD is still sovereign, and i still love Him as i did before. i didn't blame the LORD for anything, and instead i prayed to the LORD, that if He had to take away my bro to show my family members how fragile life can be, and how important it is to have the LORD with them, then i hope this would be the thing.
after all, what is man but like dust, unworthy of God's attention. going back to the beginning, Adam and Eve had the privilege of being in the Garden of Eden, where the LORD appeared before them, and walked and talked to them. then, upon Satan's temptation, Eve, and Adam, disobeyed the LORD, and committed the first sin. from then all, all man were born with inherited sin, and all had the tendency to sin. sin and God's righteousness are simply world's apart. with sin, man can never stand before the LORD, and no matter what we do, we can never be justified before Him, for man's righteousness are but like filthy rags. however, the LORD is gracious, and while we were yet sinners, the LORD sent His only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. this is what makes Christianity different from other religions. Christianity is a personal relationship with the LORD, and it is only because of Him that believers are called out of darkness into His marvellous light, to receive salvation through faith. the LORD is unwilling that any should perish, and this has been of great reminder and encouragement to me.
many a times, while we seek to reach out to others, we tend to get discouraged when people reject the LORD, or when they are simply not interested in spiritual issues. i must confess that it was the same for me at the start. also, i was also one of those that didn't bother about spiritual issues. however, after i went to SA where i heard the Scriptures, got to know my dear bro in Christ who was my debate coach there, the LORD slowly brought me closer and closer to Him. i was attracted to His Word, and initially i wanted to study the Bible for head knowledge. nonetheless, as i read God's Word for myself, i came to realise, and the Holy Spirit convicted me of how great a sinner i am, and that i had to receive Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour, in order to be saved through faith, that my future would be one where i would be with the LORD after i die.
back to my story about my bro.
according to what i know, all of my family members, including those in malaysia and overseas, are buddhists, and my mum is a staunch one. my sister got really mad when she found out i was doing bible study, and she threatened to disown this sis. my mum kept telling me not to go to church, and my dad is really superstitious. looking at such situation, i kept my faith hidden from them. most people, except those in Galilee, wouldn't know i have such a background, coz i went about attending service, various bible studies and seminars, and shared the Gospel with friends around, as if i came from Christian family. it was a great burden to me having to remain a hidden Christian and not salt and light for my family, showing them how wonderful the LORD had been to me.
during my bro's funeral, i was expected to particpate in the rituals. deep in my heart i knew very very very clearly that this was against God's Commandment, and i didn't want to grieve Him. in trying to escape from all this, i hidded at the stairs for 3plus hours. even before the funeral, on the day when my bro passed away, i had taught of this issue, and i had prayed to the LORD to help me stand firm and to give me wisdom and courage to tell my family NO. i called my pastor, deaconness and church sister. the LORD sent them to be with me, to give me advice, and most importantly, to PRAY with me. nothing is impossible with the LORD!! i cried and cried as i pondered over how to tell my family that it is against my faith to take part in the rituals. i was really on the verge of breakdown, especially spiritually as i wanted to obey the LORD, but was softened by my mum, seeing how grieved she was. i did thought of doing the wrong thing before, and that was to take part in the rituals just to comfort my mum, and stand firm in my belief that all those things are simply useless. no doubt the LORD would forgive me, i could not forgive myself. how could i do such a thing!!!!!!! the LORD requires that we honour Him first, before we honour our parents.
taking part in the rituals had 2 possible effects:
1. my family would know that i do it out of love for my bro, but i still trusted the LORD and desired greatly to obey Him.
2. i would stumble my family, who would question if my faith in GOD was true and lasting
my catholic senior was telling me i could just take part in the rituals and then seek the LORD's forgiveness, since Roman Catholicism advocated praying for the dead. i thank the LORD that i did not waver at that moment, and i told my senior that it would be against God's Word, and i made it clear that Christians do NOT believe in praying for the dead. before he left, he told me to consider the issue, but i just said that i would NOT compromise and i hoped that although our thoughts differ, he would still pray for my mum to accept my faith. what's more, GOD had it planned that my senior would not come for my bro's wake on the 2nd day when i did take part in the rituals. u might be thinking, wasn't i supposed to be firm in my belief, so why did i still do it? well, all i can say is that as a human being, i still had my own weaknesses, and in this case, it was the unwillingness to see my mum be saddened further since to her the rituals would benefit my bro in the netherworld. i really wanted to tell her how her beliefs are all screwed up, but that wouldn't be a wise thing to do as she really disliked Christianity, and i might just force her to become extreme towards GOD. anyway, i thank the LORD that my senior did not see me compromise, or i would have stumbled him in knowing the truth. it would have been yet another regret of mine if i were to stumble him, as i have been trying hard to show him the way to the LORD, to show him how wrong Romanism was, and how simple salvation would come about, and is by faith in Christ, and faith alone.
after all these long paragraphs, what i hope to encourage fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is to really really stand FIRM in your faith, and don't compromise to pressure or whatever. the regret and burden in ur heart because of the fact that you had disobeyed the LORD, is just so heavy. i've no idea how long that foolish decision of mine would bother me, but i just pray that we would all come to worship the true and living GOD in truth and in spirit, to trust and obey Him, and lead a life where we put the LORD first!!!!!!
and now, to my dear siamese twin & sister in Christ who has taken the time off to read this really long post..
i'm thankful to the LORD to see that you are trying to reach out to ur ahem =D well, that i day i was really upset by how he didn't get the idea of how a believer and non-believer ought not be together, and the other issues that we tried really hard to explain to him. i'm sure it hurts you so much more, as you seek to see him come into the fold of Christ our Lord. though i'm strongly against this r'ship between u 2, i pray that you'll make good use of whatever chances the LORD will give you to reach out to him. nevertheless, it is still my advice that you 2 come to a decision soon, as such r'ship are not blessed by the LORD, and i've just heard so many of such cases. while you may have found one who loves you a lot, remember, the LORD loves you so much more, and the best way to repay Him is to obey His Word.
you know what, i myself am very stupid too, liking a roman catholic, you know who.... but well, he doesn't know it, and he must not know it. i clearly know how pathetic it is when 2 ppl are in a r'ship, and yet they can't agree on spiritual issues, and i've heard of some whereby the couple simply leave God out of the equation. i would never ever want to be like this. as this post's title says, what's more important than spiritual issues?? as each day passes, this conviction grows deeper, and my desire to serve the LORD remains ever alive.
Ten Commandments:
Exodus 20:1-17 (KJV)
And God spake all these words, saying,
1. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
verses to know:
--> when you wonder the reason for your existence
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:11)
--> as you share the Gospel with a Roman Catholic
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
--> when you face opposition
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." (Matthew 5:11)
--> if you want to encourage fellow believers
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)
--> as you go about daily life
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
--> when you fail to read God's Word
"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)
--> as you study
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." (James 1:5-6)
--> when you're weary
"
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)
--> when you need peace
"
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)