During my recent house-moving, I came to realization that I have become a collector of things. You know those people who seems to buy and store things in their closets or wardrobes and suddenly feel their house is in such clutter.

I believe most of this problem originates from the popular culture of materialism in our society. Whenever we watch TV, browse social media or listen to the radio, we are presented by many advertisements selling us the newest and greatest things we should own. The rapid technological advancement even contributed to a shorter life span of us owning that new piece of thing.

Jesus puts this in perspective when He said, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." If your possessions seems to clutter all your spaces including your mental space, you could decide to give what you no longer need to charity or those who are in need. Remember the golden wisdom that Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” As we give away our extra or earthly possessions in the spirit of generosity, we accumulate spiritual blessings and joy that no possessions could ever bring to us.​

Acts 20: 35 ESV
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

- John W.

 Think about this, you are never alone. Those quiet, lonely times when you think no one gets you or even appreciate you, those are false thinking. No, you are never alone.

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24. That precious friend is Jesus, He promises He is with you always and He will never leave nor forsake you. Before your day even started, Jesus guarded you through your slumber, He was with you when you woke in the morning, when you begin your day and thought about your plans ahead, Jesus is there. He is waiting with the direction you need. When you encounter a problem in your day, Jesus is still beside you, waiting for you to speak to Him and ask of help, He is ready to comfort you and even has provided a solution. As you are reading this, Jesus is beside you.

“My presence will go with you,” (Exodus 33:14) Jesus promises. Become aware of His presence in your day, think of Jesus as your constant companion. It will change your perspective, try it. Find the comfort and relieve from the false loneliness you feel. Jesus could fill that void better than anyone or anything ever can.

Psalm 139: 7 - 10
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me.

- John W.

As each day comes to you,
My thoughts speed out your way,
For all the things you do,
"God bless you, Love," I pray;
​
May life show you its charm,
May God renew your strength, 
​And keep you from all harm, 
You mean so much to me, 
I can't describe my care,
Love holds you close to me,
"God bless you," is my prayer.

Tho you are far away,
I send my love and care,
To keep you every day from trouble and despair,
So do not have a fear,
Keep faith and trust above,
Our living God is near,
"God bless you,"is my prayer

Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

- Writing Excerpt by Ruth Hamilton (1962)

Have you come across a durian fruit before? The prickly greenish-brown husks you see hanging from street vendors at any of tropical Asian countries, when it is in season that is. It is a fruit I have grown accustomed to having or even eating but it is not the same case with everyone.

Some simply find its pungent odour revolting or foul, repelling them the thoughts of even trying it for the first time. The thing with durian is, inside its thick prickly hard shell, there is soft sweet edible centre that many crave and sometimes willing to pay the premium price for the fruit.

Loving people and seeing the good possibilities in people may sometimes be quite similar to knowing a durian as well. Their presence or attitude could repel or prick you. People can be horrible and stinky with the words they say and those barriers add to the challenge of reaching out the soft sweet centre of the person. To reach in, sometimes you have to be willing to be pricked and not let the “bad odour” of their bad attitude repulse you.

​Like me and you, everyone wants and needs to be affirmed for their own self. Be kind and thoughtful in your choice of words as Christ has to us. We too, could be like a durian and it is always such a relief for people not to misunderstand our wrong behaviour in times of our struggles.

Thank you Father for your grace in our life. Help us extend grace to others as You have been to us. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

John 13:34
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

- Irene Soon 

“Never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.”If there was anyone who knew all about that, it was probably Mother Teresa.

After having lived among the poorest of the poor in India for nearly 30 years (and she would continue to do so for nearly 20 more), she was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She began her acceptance speech with the words, “Life is life.” She went on to explain that all human beings are special and of great worth, no matter who they are, and that only when we have learned to respect that fact can we begin to help them improve their lives.

Most people would be happy to walk a mile in a pair of plush designer shoes or top-of-the-line athletic shoes, but how many would want to step into a poor laborer’s shoes? When I was living in Uganda, East Africa, I found a discarded pair of shoes.

It was apparent from the cement splatters that their last owner had been a construction worker. Like many others, he no doubt worked long days in sweltering heat with no protection against the sun and had only a couple of sticks of raw sugar cane for lunch. He had worn those shoes until the holes in the soles had gotten so big that the shoes no longer served their purpose. When there was no point in wearing them one more day, he left them for me to find. Those shoes put my own petty problems into perspective.

There wasn’t any question in my mind when, some time later, a young man knocked at my door, asking for help. He had won a scholarship to a boarding school, but he didn’t have any shoes. He asked if I had an extra pair I could give him. The ones I was wearing at the time fit him quite nicely, and that was that.

No, one simple act of kindness didn’t make me a saint on the level of Mother Teresa, but I do believe that in that moment I experienced a touch of what motivated her all those years: “The love of Christ compels us.”

Proverbs 18:2 ESV
 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

- Unknown author

God has still His hidden secrets, hidden from the wise and prudent. Do not fear them; be content to accept things that you cannot understand; wait patiently.

Presently He will reveal to you the treasures of darkness, the riches of the glory of the mystery. Mystery is only the veil of God’s face.

Do not be afraid to enter the cloud that is settling down on your life. God is in it. The other side is radiant with His glory. When you seem loneliest and most forsaken, God is near. He is in the dark cloud. Plunge into the blackness of its darkness without flinching; under the shrouding curtain of His pavilion you will find God awaiting you. 

Isaiah 45: 3
I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

- Anonymous

Psalm 28: 13 – 14
I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart.

What did David mean by “be a good courage”?
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The Webster dictionary defines courage as mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. It is strength or the ability to do something that frightens one. It may means having the strength to against all currents; persevering to stand by your God given values, it may means having the strength to say no, having the strength to profess your faith boldly though it intimidates you, it may mean having the strength to keep quiet and not speak hastily due to pride and it may simply mean having the strength to say the first sorry and admitting you are at the wrong .

David urges us to wait on the Lord and be of good courage because he knew that God has been the strength of his heart through it all and the Lord remained David’s only hope in the land of living. Do not lose heart, dear friends.  Like David, let the Lord be the strength of your heart and continue to hope on the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

- Irene Soon

God is challenging me to be more people-driven and less results-driven. Being results-driven can be part of striving (doing things FOR God). When I feel overwhelmed and heavily-burdened to do things FOR God, then I know something’s wrong - I’m results-driven.
 
Being people driven is sharing Christ’s heart for people, and desiring to do life WITH God. Jesus was people-driven, not results-driven. Sure, there are benefits of being results-driven. But when we follow Christ and His example, we find that the only results God is concerned with relate to people. The only thing He desires is that nothing would come between us and His love. 
 
Just like in Mark 5:24-34 - Jesus was not concerned with the ‘large crowd’ of people surrounding him. In that moment, he was concerned with the one woman who had reached out and touched him. She was the one woman who had faith that He could save her.
 
When we reach out to our Saviour - with faith that He can save us - everything else of this world becomes a blur. In that moment it’s just us and Him. My eloquent words don’t matter. What I’m wearing doesn’t matter. Whether or not I stand out/ look foolish doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is Christ’s great love for me, and for others.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Rebecca Ng