20160726: Rom 10 - A salvation by what apps?! Nike!

Rom 10:13 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"

A little testimony of His faithfulness:

It was a Tuesday of quite a gloomy session of  lousy news.  Cancer invasion and relapse in the 2 of the family members and friend's spinal pain issues. However, the Lord is always near and He often uses unusual ways of cheering me up. This was one of those days.

It was this evening on the what apps chat with another ex colleague whose husband too was receiving chemo treatment.  Was always curious about her faith as she was using some of the 'christian cliches' in the chat.

So this evening. I decided to put a direct question " Hey , you also became a Christian?" To my surprise the answer was " I am not yet a Christian but soon"

Wondering "But soon" means ?  And I could't help remembering this logo.

Nike! Just do it!

In Heb 3, in 2 separate verses, the exhortation was that when "today we hear his voice , do not harden our hearts"  So I decided to apps the ABC salvation in simple form to her! No need to wait liao. Nike?

A- Acknowledge Jesus as Lord (Admit we are sinners)

B- Believe He died for our sins and rose again

C- Confess we are sinners and His blood shed for us is remission of our sins

Rom10:8 " The word is near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart." that is the word of faithwe are proclaiming. v9 That if we confess with our mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. v10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified , and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved"

And she replied " Yes, I believe it"

So I trust as in v11 "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame"

V14 " How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written" How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news"

And we thank God for the gift of salvation.

V20 As declared by Isaiah" I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me" But for those who seek Him, yes He can be found by just a mouth away. Why tarry? Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Just a simple ABC to getting to know the greatest King of all the earth! No hell but heaven!

Reflections of the simple Tick! Nike

In 1971, Carolyn Davidson (lady above) charged 17.5 hours of work to come up with this Nike swoosh—which ended up in a $35 paycheck. While she didn't profit immediately from her work on the Swoosh, the designer was eventually celebrated by the company when they threw a party in her honor. She was also given a generous amount of stock in the company (estimated to be worth upwards of $1,000,000), as well as a diamond and gold ring featuring the Swoosh design.

As I thought about Davidson's small invoice amount of only S$35 back then, would anyone fathom the success of the company whose logo was designed by her in later years?

Is that a form of delayed gratification?

But in terms of eternity, it is priceless for a swoosh decision that would moved one from darkness to light.  From death to life.  Sometimes, people do not know how to become a child of God.  But it is as easy as a kindy ABC ! No big hoo ha. Merely a call of the heart to simply believe in Jesus and the confession of our mouth.

Never tarry.  Never delay.  We may never know what would happen next suddenly to prevent us from calling out to the name of Jesus.  

20160723_Tangkak Durian_Mt Ophir (Gunung Ledang)

23/7/2016 Trip to Tangkak for durians and a small trek to Mt Ophir !

It was our annual durian hunt with hubby's classmates which began only last year. This 2nd year we moved up to Tangkak , making it a full day trip which started at 6:30am

Traffic via Causeway was surprisingly good and we managed to stop over at about 8am @ Toast in Permas for breakfast.


Arrived at Tangkak at about 11am where the durian feast began!

 The 4 types of durians from the AA cheapest to the most expensive of Mao Shan Wan was laid on the table for sampling! (and we spent RM698 all in all)

The growing sequence of a durian from day 1 to the final 6th months - see its thorny TRANSFORMATION!


12:30PM  Arrived at the foot of Mt Ophir to discharge those calories!

Pretty cool waters!

3:30pm : Off to hunt for the famous Tangkak Beef Noodles! And bought the traditional biscuits...

6pm....On the way to Simpang Rengkam..the bus started to made a "plop plop plog noise"! Fortunately it was not a tyre puncture but  a screw loose causing the bottom flap to make that noise...stopped at a repair shop and got it fixed in minutes....after collecting the Muah Otah:)

Good chicken (RM38) and braised pork trotters with sea cucumber (RM138) the most expensive dish..total bill RM500+ (for 7 dishes)

10:15 pm Home sweet home ...smooth customs this time! Heng ah!

All in for this trip -bus and food? S$70....not too bad eh?
Looking for to next year! Yeah!

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
The Ukelele sing-a-long song in the bus journey...If I had a million dollars..LOL Ji Ba Ban!

OPHIR : is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its WEALTH!  King Solomon received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes and peacocks from OPHIR every 3 years! (wikipaedia) Oh My! Ji Ba Ban alright!

Nah sih gua uh ji pa ban, ji pa ban,
Gua uh ji pa ban, jit si lang tio khin san,

Bo khong bo lang jai, kong tio chin pai seh,
Chiak kak hia nih tua hanh. ko mm pat je puey kee,

Pah piah hua chuey ni, bo chia bo chu ko bo ai lin,
Kua lang chua bo ko chuey sing di, wu jii ko wu seng,

Nah si gua wu ji pa ban, wa beh je puey kee,
Wa beh ew seh kai, ha wa ee sai dai yang,
Lit pun chiak su shi (Wa chia li chiak su shi)

Nah si gua wu ji pa ban, wa beh buey chia buey chu,
sang ting ka hai bi, siang lang ka ho kih,
lai hor wa cho bo
I’m quite lost here on the underlined part. Can anyone help?

Nah sih gua uh ji pa ban, ji pa ban,
Nah sih li wu kiam eng jii, khui chui bien keh khi,

Bo khong bo lang jai, kong tio chin pai seh,
Chiak kak hia nih tua hanh. ko mm pat je puey kee,

Pah piah hua chuey ni, bo chia bo chu ko bo ai lin,
Kua lang chua bo ko chuey sing di, wu jii ko wu seng,

Nah si gua wu ji pa ban, wa beh je puey kee,
Wa beh ew seh kai, ee tah li lim ko pi,
Loh pi chiak speh ge ti (Loh pi chiak speh ge ti)

Nah si gua wu ji pa ban, wa beh buey chia buey chu,
Buey tiam lai siu chor, eng eng bien cho kang,
Chua kow ki san por,

Nah sih gua uh ji pa ban, ji pa ban,
Nah sih li wu kiam eng jii, khui chui bien keh khi,

Nah sih gua uh ji pa ban, ji pa ban,
Chap cheng puay cheng teh ki eng,
bien huan ma boh bun tuey (huan chien pu se wen ti)

Nah sih gua uh ji pa ban, ji pa ban…
Wei, peng yu eh, li siong ji pa ban, chin chuay ah?

Just if you’re wondering what the heck is this guy singing about, here’s my DIRECT TRANSLATION, I repeat, DIRECT TRANSLATION from hokkien to English for your listening pleasure.

If I have got one million, one million,
I got one million, my whole life no worries,

Never say nobody knows, say already very shy,
Eat until so big, never sat on a plane before,

Worked so hard for so many years, no car no house and also no lover,
See people get married and do business, got money and got success,

If I have got one million, I wanna sit on a plane,
I wanna explore the world, Hawaii to sun bath,
Japan eat sushi ( treat you eat sushi )

If I have got one million, I wanna buy car buy house,
Eat all the delicacies of the world, who got the good luck,
Be my girl ( thanks to xiaoken@hwz for explaining these two lines )

If I have got one million, one million,
I got one million, my whole life no worries,

Never say nobody knows, say already very shy,
Eat until so big, never sat on a plane before,

Worked so hard for so many years, no car no house and also no lover,
See people get married and do business, got money and got success,

If I have got one million, I wanna sit on a plane,
I wanna explore the world, Italy drink coffee,
Road side eat spaghetti ( road side eat spaghetti )

If I have got one million, I wanna buy car buy house,
Buy shop to collect rent, easy easy no need to work,
Bring dog go for a walk,

If I have got one million, one million,
If you need to borrow money, just open your mouth and ask and no need shy shy,

If I have got one million, one million,
Ten thousand eight thousand take go and use,
No need to pay back also no problem ( pay back money not a problem )

If I have got one million, one million,
Wei friend, you think one million a lot ah?

20160706_1Sam16:23 David's harp & Saul's Relief - Music Soothes the Soul

1 Sam 16:23 "Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play.  Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him"

This book which I just borrowed from the Library@Esplanade last Tue : 
Music Soothes the Soul- features engaging stories from 70- musicians, artists, scientist and entrepreneurs who show how music can positively impact our lives.  Written by a very young teenager, Matthew Bernstein.  At 17 , his first book was published.  

How this book was written? Well, Matthew interviewed every 70 of them by phone or by email.  The stories of their musical ventures and how music played and influence their lives and inspired others.  He always ended the interview with this question " Please complete the following sentence:

"Music matters to me because......"

• it expresses every type of emotion that a human can feel [Art Alexakis]
• it's the soundtrack of our lives.  Ever since the caveman started to beat out rhythm, it has been every culture on Earth.  It's as important as language [Jessica Baron]
• it makes life better [Eric Bieshke]
• it brings people together in a way other things don't.  It is something that crosses all boundaries [Carla De Santis Black]
• it enables me to express myself using a universal language [ Michael Cartellone]
• It is the language of the human soul [Mark Churchill]
• it is my lifeforce [Bill Conti]
• it is the fundamental voice in my life [Brian Dallow]
• it reflects where we come from and where we are going [Jacob Edgar]
• it reminds that that we're all connected and a part of the universe [Christopher "Kiff" Gallagher Jr]
• it has the power to create change [Adam Gardner]
• it's therapy.  It helps me to get through the ups and downs of life [Isaac Hanson]

The above is just a little summary...

A Short testimony

As I sat at the pool this late morning on this Hari Raya Puasa holiday, reading through the lives of such a pool of talented people, the verse in 1 Sam 16:23 came to me.

Strangely today, after the shower of rain, there was not a single soul at the pool! All I heard was the rushing of the waters back into the side of the pool . That was music to my ears.

And so as I pondered over some of the interviewees' summaries of why music matters to them? Indeed how true the importance of music was back in Saul and David's time.  The Lord used the harp as the instrument to create the change in Saul's emotions.

But at the same time, I asked a curious question "why does a good God allow evil spirit to enter Saul in the first place?"

Why let an evil spirit torment Saul?

Quite an interesting thought as about a month ago, some loved one I know was seemingly tormented by an evil spirit.  There was such a change in the demeanor of the person and it was rather scary!

Yes, all created things are under God's control.  And it would appear that sometimes, the Lord allowed evil spirit to torment.  Permission was granted by Him - just as in the case of Job. Satan and the demons will attack the person whom God had permitted to do so.  Why not?  When we disobey - can we be open to the doors of the devil for torment?  To see a loved one being tormented is in no way fun.  Seemed that hell broke loose and chaos was at its peak.  Peace was shaken in the atmosphere.  

During the course of this eventful month, the person made a comment aloud - wanted to spring clean the house suddenly. Something that had never been mentioned before .  It brought to my mind about Luke 11 regarding the unclean spirit bringing in 7 more to the cleansed house.  Oh my! May the Lord forbid! So arising from this sudden change in the person's personality whom I thought was "demonised", the prayer chain was activated.  It brought unity in prayer and praise .  Worship and singspiration , standing in the gap for repentance with prayers and annointing of oil.  

So yes, that worship and singing was the therapy and antidote to the scary circumstance.  Just like what David did, whenever he played the harp, the evil spirit departed from Saul. 

Now that a month had passed.  Things seemed to have normalised.  Thank God for this.  Thank God this was temporary.  Rom 8:28.  Eph 6:10-18.  Our fight is against the principalities and not flesh and blood.  Our Lord Jesus whose blood was shed on the cross has overcome Satan.  

Reflections

Music indeed Soothes the Soul!

It is the universal language that echoes in the soul.

To many, music is like the blood in the veins and the air one breathe, the hum of our pulse.

Music is that universal language.  It puts a smile on our face.  It transcends cultures and the beat and rhythm moves our little feet! It causes us to dance!

It is no wonder what the psalms painted to us.  All the singing and the worship due to His name.  A mere play of the 7 wonderful notes...do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-DO!

Thank You Lord for the world of Music!