1/9/2018 : At Kulai Rideout Horse, with my horse called "Please Be True" :)
At the encouragement of our niece J who loves horses, we decided to accompany her to this Kulai Rideout on 1/9/18. It was only about 45 min drive from Skudai JB. Very near to the Pulai mountain.
The resort was run by a couple from Australia and the place was pretty nice. Though the food was on the slightly expensive side. My niece decided to stay over for the night for more rides whereas we only did the trail ride which was about 1.5 hours (RM180 /pax)
Perhaps this was my second attempt to ride a horse. Think the first one was in Canada in 1996. I am not a fond lover of horses. Why? Simply because they are huge and rather intimidating. So afraid they will gallop away in a frenzy or even give me a kick with their strong hind legs or even throw me off from their saddle!
Nevertheless, I took the challenge to ride on one that day, begging them to give me the tamest of the tame horse! LOL.
So came my horse whose name was "Please Be True". Umm..how on earth did the owner give them such weird names! John's horse was called "Superforce"- originally intended for me but they decided to swop. Thank God they did cos Superforce was rather stubborn!
Reflections
1. About Horses & Our trust
Little Red Dot is a land scarce country. The only place that we can find horses is at the Green Fairways. We used to host horse betting at the Bukit Timah Turf city but that one is long closed.
Horses are big animals and they are not easy to upkeep as they need the space. So it is in Malaysia that one can find more riding places.
The one at Kulai has only about 30 horses. And as I reflected, I cannot imagine in 1 Kings 4:26 that King Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen! What a huge contrast!
And back in those olden times, chariots were liken to today's cars. And Soloman had 1,400 of them! And all over from Egypt and beyond, people were bringing horses to Solomon. Horses - associated with strength and power!
Ever wondered how the term Horsepower came about? :)
Well, this term was adopted in the late 18th century by a Scottish engineer Jame Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses. Today we understand HP to the the unit measurement of power- the rate at which work is done. For eg, the electrical HP is about 745 Watts. The mechanical HP is 33,000 ft pounds per min. In our car , the power of an engine produce is called HP too.
Well, who gives the horse its might? Hmm. John's horse was called SuperForce - fast and swift as it should be?
Whatever, it is not in the might of such horses we trust.
Ps 20:7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God"
2. About the Horse Rider and Our trust
It was interesting that I rode on this horse called "Please be True"
WHAT A NAME@!
At Kulai Rideout, all the horses were old horses (above 20 years) But they were once champion jumpers or competitive racing horses in their prime of life. Mine was a jumper. The lifespan of a horse is only 25-30 years.
As I reflected on the bible, it is not so much about the horses afterall. But their riders.
In Rev 6 - we were introduced to the 4 different horses when the 4th of the 7th seal was opened. White (Conquest), Red (War), Black (Famine) & Pale ( Death)
These riders showed us the challenges in the future. Kind of scary.
But it is the white horse rider in Rev 19 that brought us HOPE.
v11 "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called FAITHFUL AND TRUE. With justice he judges and makes war.....on his robe and on his thigh he has his name written :
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
Final Reflection
- Me -My horse "Please Be True".
A reminder to myself on whom my allegiance goes to?
Can I remain faithful and true to my King of kings and Lord of Lords right to the end? Will I remain steadfast?
- or The Horse Rider called "Faithful and True"
A reminder to myself of who that horse rider will always be. The character of God never changes. We may straddle off course once in a while. But He remains the same Faithful and True.
2 Tim 2 exhorts us to be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ, to endure hardship like a good soldier, to compete like an athlete and be the hardworking farmer.
I want to be that horse, to be true , towards the end.
And I want to remember ALWAYS the horse rider called Faithful and True.
V11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
PLEASE BE TRUE! PLEASE BE TRUE! PLEASE BE TRUE!
AMEN!
