Isaiah 41:13 (NKJV)

For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you."

Monday, July 20, 2009

shackles of my own making

"The Christian life begins when we are released from the prisons of our own making. The love of the cross unlocks the prison doors of memory. The past is forgiven and the future is open to new possibilities... The past can be neither a source of confidence nor a condemnation. God graciously divided our life into days and years so that we could let go of the yesterdays and anticipate our tomorrows... We are liberated to accept and love ourselves as loved by the Lord. This unshackles our relationships."
-Lloyd Ogilvie, "God's Transforming Love"

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" -John 8:36

Sunday, July 19, 2009

"Heaven is a divine reality on earth"

After weeks and months in Romans, having finally reached the long-awaited section on "hope", today's sermon (to be uploaded soon) wrapped it up beautifully.

I'm reminded of this song "There Is A Day" by PHATFISH, theme song for TSCF Mid-Year Conference 2007.

There is a day
That all creation's waiting for,
A day of freedom and liberation for the earth.
And on that day
The Lord will come to meet His bride,
And when we see Him
In an instant we'll be changed

The trumpet sounds
And the dead will then be raised
By His power,
Never to perish again.
Once only flesh,
Now clothed with immortality,
Death has now been
Swallowed up in victory

We will meet Him in the air
And then we will be like Him
For we will see Him, as He is
Oh yeah!
Then all hurt and pain will cease
And we'll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live
Oh yeah! Oh yeah!

So lift your eyes
To the things as yet unseen,
That will remain now
For all eternity.
Though trouble's hard,
It's only momentary
And it's achieving
Our future glory.

This song had resonated deep within when I heard it in 2007 - yet for me it pointed to a fuzzy place in the future, something ahead to long for, to stretch out for and to wait patiently for.

Today's message drove home the point: "Heaven is a divine reality on earth" - confirmation of a truth I've been introduced to at KGK's Spring Camp in March 2008. Amidst the grief, pain, sorrows, injustice and frustrations of the world, God has built His Church - not that we can be cordially pleasant on the surface, but to experience deep joy in Him and also to groan with the world as the creation groans:

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. "
-Romans 8:18-25

It's not so bad to be groaning after all.

"ただいま!"




The warrior is a child

Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child

Unafraid because His armor is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
the warrior is a child

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and and look up for a smile
'Cause deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
The Warrior is a Child

Warrior is a Child by Twila Paris.

This pseudo-warrior has deep emotional wounds that don't seem to heal. Well-buried hurts that get unearthed every once in a while weaken the arms to carry the large heavy sword. In fact, momentarily, this pseudo-warrior can no longer remember how to fight the battle and run the good race.