20121212:Isaiah 40 -The morning I saw Venus!

 Isaiah 40:21" Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

Isaiah 40:28: "Do you not know ?Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth"

The date 12/12/12 comes only once in a lifetime. There will never be another date ever as the earth rotates itself to another new day forward.

On this awesome morning, I could never imagine I could see a planet with the human naked eye! It was about 6:15am in the morning when I was captivated by this bright light above the crescent moon. With my I-phone, I managed to capture this and a short video.

I thought I saw a bright "star" - that reminded me of Matt 2 - where Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. The one they seen in the east.  But alas, the one I saw in the east in the morning was not a star - but a planet! I SAW A PLANET instead! The debate in the evening to my discovery later with some friends was whether it was Venus or Jupiter?  It was such an awesome discovery of the universe that at different times of the seasons, we can sight different planets! Yes it is possible!

This is Christmas time. A time of reflection of a year that is closing.  The Mayans predicted that 21/12/2012 is the end of the world. But as I am journaling this today - the date is 22/12/12. The END was not here for the earthlings. Ho Ho Ho! Still another HoLyDay!

So it was Planet Venus I saw. Venus . Love. God.

What is Christmas?
God is love. It was because of this great love for us mankind that Jesus was born for a time like this 2000+ years ago. King Herod was disturbed by the birth of the Christ - the one who will become a ruler and the shepherd of the people Israel. 

When you behold the stars in the sky in the dark night? What do you feel? Do you feel emotionless like the recent Gallup poll which surveyed & found that Singaporeans ranked pretty high up in the emotionless quotient?  Do you feel happy when you see the heavenly hosts above? Well, the Magi in Matt 10:10 saw the star, they were overjoyed. In Luke 2:13 "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests'"

That was the feeling of those people anticipating on the night when Jesus was born. JOYful. Peaceful. Love. So that was the same feeling that I had when I saw Venus and the starry hosts that wee morning.  To have that - only on whom his favour rests.  That means one needs to know Him first. Do you know this King - the Saviour born to us? He is Christ the Lord. This is the true meaning of Christmas.

What are Christmas Gifts?
Matt 2:11 the Magi or wise men bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened the treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh"

Today as we celebrate Christmas, the gifts exchange are merely between men to men. We present to each other with gifts not of pure gold because they are expensive. But we give to each other lots of incense and myrrh from Bodyshop / Crabtree / Marks & Spencer etc  Ha ha. Sometimes the gifts comes with a cap limit of S$xx amount too.

But what did the Magi did in the past? The gifts they brought were for Jesus.  Only Jesus. Not among themselves . Ha Ha Ha. Our gift to Him is worship and adoration for who He is and what He has done. Not about us but all about Him. We seek the Giver , not the gifts. We live in the present and not the past. Is 40:29 He does not grow tired or weary (We do!) His understanding no one can fathom (We are still learning each day!). He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak! What a source of great power and mighty strength!  To whom will we compare God? He can bring princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. This is my God - Jesus Christ - the greatest gift of all.

Reflections
As I reflected on the year 2012, I realised that life is really a journey. I have never encountered flight cancellations. 2012 was my first time experiencing it in June while in Darwin. There is a chinese saying that if there is once, there will be twice or thrice. Indeed. Came Oct, Kota Kinabalu trip was delayed for departure from Senai as the KK Airport had technical glitches.  Then came Nov where my father in law had to undergo his major heart bypass at his 83 years of age leading to another cancellation of a trip to Melbourne to celebrate a cousin's wedding.

So life is like that. We may never know what will happen the next moment. 

We seem to be in a rat race forgetting to slow down to smell the roses and look up to the heavenly hosts above. Jesus came down to us. He had gone back and He will come back again for us. When? No one knows. But for now, here is the video of the Venus and some flights in action and some beautiful lit up night scenes in S'pore - to remind us that there is a Light in the World . We will never be alone. He is with us. 

Go and look up to the skies now and enjoy. What do you see? How do you feel? May be you might see Saturn?  The one with the ring around and not Satan -the one with the horns. Have a blessed Christmas 2012!

http://youtu.be/f5tp-lgPzmI

20121201: Matt 20 :Strike! Parable of the labourers

To strike or not to strike - that is the question?

MOM and MHA have issued a joint press statement today (1 Dec).

It said that Police have completed their investigations into the illegal strike on 26 and 27 Nov 2012 involving SMRT PRC bus drivers. The strike was found to be planned and premeditated. It disrupted Singapore’s public transport service which is an essential service, and “posed a threat to public order”.

The Public Prosecutor has decided to charge a total of 5 PRC bus drivers who instigated or participated in the illegal strike. Four have already been charged in Court.

In addition to the 4, one more will be charged on Mon (3 Dec) under section 9(1) of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (Chapter 67). If convicted, the 5 will face a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both on each charge.

In addition, 29 SMRT bus drivers have been sternly warned by the Police for participating in the strike. The Controller of Work Passes has revoked their work permits, and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority will be repatriating them.
Matthew 20

King James Version (KJV)

20 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

² And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³ And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

⁴ And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

⁷ They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

⁸ So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

⁹ And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

¹⁰ But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

¹¹ And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

¹² Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

¹³ But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

¹⁴ Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

¹⁶ So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Reflection
When this strike took place recently in S'pore - it was kind of unprecedented in this little red dot where law and order is highly up held.

The Chinese drivers did a strike to lament on their counter part Malaysians with regard to their penny earnings. It is a challenge for employees vs employers 

It reminded me of the above parable .
It is about the issue of Justice & Fairness. About the grace of our Lord YHWH. Watch this video below and have a good laf. Goto 12:48 if not time : the part that shows "Capuchins rejects unequal pay"! (monkeys)

At the end of the day, we must remember - life can be unjust but the Lord is just. He is the potter and we are just the clay. One can be born in China or S'pore or Malaysia. For some, the vocation is merely a bus driver or a so called "service leader" whereas there are others who are born to be a "service leader" in the nation serving as a PM.  One earns S$12,000 p.a whereas the other S$1,200,000 pa...the 2 zeros are missing? Pay peanuts get monkeys? How do we reconcile the fact that a bus driver in China earns $500,  another driver working in Malaysia earns S$800 whereas a Singaporean bus drive here earns S$1500? All drivers but merely in different parts of the earth?

We may not seem to understand this inequality here on earth. Save your red eye of jealousy! Because, God is still fair and just.  For He said" So the last shall be the first and the first last; for many be called , but few chosen" Rich or poor , He is the maker of them all. Who are we - the clay to question the potter ? How can we murmur? His grace is sufficient for us all.  He has the last call.

Healthy? Able to work? Not retrenched? Retired? Whatever...Give thanks! Godliness with contentment is great gain....ummm