20130208: Amos 1-2 : But I will send a fire upon (Fire tornadoes)

Amos 1 & 2 : For three transgression of XX and for four, I will not turn away the punishment hereof...BUT I WILL SEND A FIRE into xxx or upon ...."

Plosky Tolbachik erupting in Kamchatka in November: The volcano is the subject of an incredible 360 degree interactive panorama by Russian group Airpano

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2271934/Watch-volcano-exploding-Amazing-360-degree-interactive-panorama-shows-eruption-remote-Kamchatka-peninsula.html#ixzz2KJC7iCW7 

I have been reading Amos recently.  Having blogged about Amos 1 on the M8 earthquake at Hazor, these few days in Feb 2013, it seemed that the pacific ring of fire is getting angry.

Sometime in Sept 2012, strange fire tornadoes were captured on video at Alice Springs , Australia - see youtube. And then in Nov 2012, the Russia volcanoes started spouting and flowing.  The awesome panorama view of this active volcano is fantastic to watch.

Looking at the map - that left side of the red line from Tolbachik to Santa Cruz - Soloman Islands - in fact as I am blogging now , another M7.1 just shook Santa Cruz again.  Amazing shaking over the last few days of magnitude above 6!

Reflections
Fire - signifies God's judgement.
The prophetic oracles in Amos 1 & 2 to Syria, Phlistines, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab and Judah except Israel  - ALL ended up with a fire being sent upon it! 7 of 8 got the flames!

The Lord repeatedly said " I will not turn away the punishment thereof....." because of all the various errs each made.

Amos 3:4 "Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?"
Amos 3:3 "Can two walk together , except the be agreed?
Amos 3:5  "Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?"
Amos 3:6 "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city and the people not be afraid?"
Amos 3:7 "...but he reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets"
Amos 3:8 " The lion has roared , who will not fear? the LORD GOD has spoken who can but prophesy?"

OH oh Oh oh Oh oh...lion has roared and trumpet has sounded! And fire has been seen over north in Russia and south in OZ......Oops OH oh .....

Frightened? Umm...
The remedy is one not of fear. But to understand the signs of times in our life.
Amos 3:10 :For they know not to do the right. "Indeed the world values and systems are so enstrangling.  Those who are indifferent or careless may just watch the world goes by.  Only 1/3 remnant will be awake like the 5 wise virgins. 

The best cure can be found in Amos 4 & 5.

1. Understand who God is . In Amos 4:13 - He is THE LORD, The God of host - that is His name

2. Proactively guard our hearts . In Amos 5:4,6,8 ,14" Seek the LORD and we shall live"

3. Perhaps it is time to wind down . Amos 5:13 "Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is evil time" S377? White Paper for 6.9mio? - time to be silent and seek His face instead.

Our God is a consuming fire.  He is . Like the fire tornadoes and the volcanoes, fire is spouting from above and beneath! Ouch!

20130115:Amos 1 : The great M8 earthquake in Hazor

Amos 1:1 "The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake"




I am often called an earthquake chaser (besides chasing after rainbows!). In my phone - i have downloaded an earthquake apps where I tracked the frequency and the magnitude of earthquakes.

In the beginning of Amos Chapter 1, he mentioned about an earthquake in around 8th century.  Archaelogists have dug and are still digging this place in Hazor. Is it true? No doubt about the findings.

This place is now also a UNESCO heritage site. What lessons do we learn from this? Well Amos is only a rather short 9-chapter book. But its first 2 opening chapters - fire came down for 8 places with the repeated "For three transgression of the XXX, and for four". Burnt!

Recently about 2 months ago (around Nov 2012) my friend's flat was burnt quite badly in a fire. The photos I saw of what it remained were scary - full of soot and melted fans. By the grace of God, she was unhurt except for being admitted in ICU for a couple of days due to extreme inhalation of the smoke.  This was just a apartment - what more can we imagine the whole city burnt by the Lord?

Reflections
The Lord can and will smite - when the unrepentant continues their way. The earth shaking - is nothing new under the sun as He tries to gather humans attention to something beyond the human control. Yahweh is Love. Yet He is also consuming fire. Amos 4:13 "The LORD, The God of hosts is his name" ! Jehovah Sabboath.

In Amos 5 : "Seek the LORD and you shall live"..repeated 3 x. Umm...so here is a song Consuming Fire - a reminder for oneself to "do right " (Amos 3:10 in order to avoid his judgments to come...."To hate evil and love the good and establish judgement on the gate; it may be the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph" Amos 5:15




http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/hazor.html

Will  God gave us up? Why not? In Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men , who hold the truth in unrighteousness"
Ungodiness ? Unrighteousness? - Recently we have seen a spate of such opening of gates as in Bromptom Gate, City Harvest Gate, Oral Gate, Aim Gate ,  Pink Gate - it is like a drama being unfolded with exciting stories and sequels to follow? Amos 5:15 talks about establishment of judgement on the gate. So help us Lord  to bring justice on these gates !

Sad indeed. God will and can give up on those to uncleaness through the lust of their own hearts...(Rom 1:24, 26, 28) When that time comes where He gives up on the humans who chose not to live  and depart from Him - that is a GOODBYE my friend.   Human rights? Sure, you got it! Freedom to choose. The choice is yours to take. Choose wisely.

20130111: Do the Right by Norman Macleod (1812-1871)

(photo taken 9/1/13: The Stationary Sail Boat Parked at Marina @ Keppel Bay...some corporate partying ongoing that evening...)

Trust in God (“Courage, brother!”)

By Norman Macleod (1812–1872)

 Courage, brother, do not stumble,

      Though thy path be dark as night;
    There's a star to guide the humble--
      Trust in God and do the right.
    Though the road be long and dreary,
      And the end be out of sight;
    Foot it bravely, strong or weary--
      Trust in God and do the right.

    Perish "policy" and cunning,
      Perish all that fears the light;
    Whether losing, whether winning,
      Trust in God and do the right.
    Shun all forms of guilty passion,
      Fiends can look like angels bright;
    Heed no custom, school, or fashion--
      Trust in God and do the right.

    Some will hate thee, some will love thee,
      Some will flatter, some will slight;
    Cease from man and look above thee,
      Trust in God and do the right.
    Simple rule and safest guiding--
      Inward peace and shining light--
    Star upon our path abiding--  

      TRUST IN GOD AND DO THE RIGHT.

20130111:Amos Study : Living Right/ Doing Right

Amos 7:7 "Thus he showed me: and behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand"

(Photo: Taken 9/1/13 @ Marina @ Keppel Bay)

The very first 2013 sermon message on "Living Right" - 6/1/2013

How interesting it was that our president contender Dr TCB wrote about this on the following day (7/1/2013)  following the Aimgate case in S'pore.

It is kind of a affirmation to this little red dot. The top down leadership review - spanning from govt leadership to that of even church leadership. 

There is a chinese word 歪 - wai - meaninging "up" not right, "bottom" not straight - we get crooked "wai wai" . LOL Like this bridge taken above - it looks a little slanted, isnt it?? 

We have missed the mark terribly as a nation .  "Aimed" wrongly on the things that were supposed to be aimed at. Perhaps also even the church as a whole in terms of what she should have been.

Remembering Amos 7.  The Lord asked "What do you see Amos?"

"A plumb line"

Then the Lord said " I am setting a plumbline among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be destroyed....." (kind of scary right?..and I do believe that the Lord is purging our nation with Citygate, Bromptomgate, Oralgate, Palmergate and now the recent Aimgate for a season and reason. Likewise, the shaking of the church here in our nation . A watershed 2012 and 2013 ....Rom 8:28)

Plumblines are so important in the survey and construction industry.

I am reminded we are always to go back to that standard set by His Word and not by human standard.

And today (8/1/2013) PM finally requested MND to review into the Aimgate saga . This is indeed a positive sign after much cries of anguish of the citizens.  "Noises" heard at last perhaps. LOL

Reflection

May the Lord's grace and mercy be upon our nation in this turbulent times.

Was reading the entire book of Amos early this morning. In Amos 4:10"They do not know how to do the right" declares the Lord. Guess we know the consequences of the fire that He sent to those places except Israel. IN Chapter 5 - we see the Lord appealing to his people "Seek Good, not evil that you may live...hate evil , love good, maintain justice in the courts...mercy on the remnant"

Thank God, it ended on a positive final chapter in Amos 9. Less scary. He will restore the tabernacle of David. There will be restoration. (Amos 9:11) After all the doom doom doom and gloom...at least we see some blooms of the vineyards, gardens and the fruit towards the end.

A quick read through of these 9 chapters in the book of Amos. More detailed study to come.....

"Many a time we have been reminded by our leaders that we must do what is right. This is because we want fairness for all.

The recent controversy of town councils (TCs) allowing the ruling political party company (AIM) to buy over and manage the IT software programs of TCs, beg a few questions, especially when the company may not serve ‘due to material change’, an opposition ward.

This soft ware is developed using public funds by town councils. Is it right for the TCs to give up ownership in this manner?

For the good of all Singaporeans the administration of public institutions like TCs should be seamless when transiting after each Election.

So did the Town Councils as public institutions do the right thing, selling to a company owned by a political party with its own agenda?

People are also puzzled by why the software programme was sold to a dormant $2 company owned by the ruling political party. This company obviously could not manage and sub the job back to NCS.

Another question asked: the TCs have been successfully using the IT program supported by expertise from NCS, the developer of the system. Why introduce a ‘middle man’? Surely, if the IT software program needs an upgrade or redevelopment it is better the TCs, as ‘user’ should be working directly with the developer eg NCS. The TCs already have the experience getting the first software done.

NEXT, did this arrangement having the middleman raise costs for the TCs, which their constituents will ultimately bear? As AIM is now the owner, is it going to pay the costs for any upgrade or new software development? How much is AIM then going to charge the TCs, which now is at the mercy of AIM?

As TCs are public institutions, citizens are certainly uncomfortable with political party owned companies transacting with the TCs

Much more clarity and transparency are needed."

.

Tan Cheng  Bock

20130101- Les Miserables- I dreamed A Dream

Gen37:5" And Joseph dreamed a dream..."

Like Joseph, Fantine in Les Miserables too had a dream.   Joseph's dream came to pass in a colourful way as he found himself elevated to be the Prime Minister of Egypt in the later years.  Unlike Joseph, Fantine's dream were dashed as she sold herself to prostitution to raise monies to save her daughter Corsette. In this snapshot song:

"I dreamed a dream in times gone byWhen hope was highAnd life worth livingI dreamed that love would never dieI dreamed that God would be forgivingBut the tigers come at nightWith their voices soft as thunderI had a dream my life would beSo different from this hell I'm livingSo different now from what it seemedNow life has killedThe dream I dreamed."

This 2012 closed with me watching this movie Les Miserables at the cinema with a group of friends at Vivocity on 31/12/2012 at 9:15pm  Movie ended just minutes before the fireworks and crossover to 2013.

Les Miz - the true meaning is miserable ones.

Reflections of a motherhen

I watched this musical live when they performed in S'pore in the 1980s.  It was a beautiful musical - so rich in its contents of grace, mercy, love , forgiveness, dream and hope. Martyrs and battles fought in the world of prevalent social injustice. The law and the spirit.

Can I accept the horrific 10 over years of imprisonment of one who stole a loaf of bread to feed a starving person? Can I comprehend the agony of those ladies who sold their lives to the tigers to bring up their own children? Can I appreciate the fighting spirit of those young men at the barricades - looking towards a hope in the future where restoration of justice would take place in the government?

2012 had just gone by in a twinkling of another eye. It was a year of many unprecedented upheavals in politics.  The temperature of the red dot has indeed gone sky high. What is the Singapore Dream that many aspire to dream? Has it been killed already?

To me, HOPE is an important antidote to the death of any dreams killed. If any of your dreams had been slaughtered, take heart - remember HOPE.  Hope does not disappoint.

I am reminded of the short book Titus

1. God's Truthful Character

Titus 1:2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

2. God's coming again 

Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

3. God's justification and our inheritance 

Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So whatever hell that anyone may be struggling throught, we thank God that we can always look to the Promise-Keeper, His Promissory Note to us and the eternal redemptive Promise this year end and with a heart of thanksgiving - we can all either stay unhappy or miserable or to rise up and remain joyful at all seasons and times! Make the right choice! Like Valjean, we who were once sinners were also given a new lease of life when we plead with God for mercy. Jesus died so that we can live and be heirs to His kingdom.

Truth and light prevails. Press in and on towards 2013. God does not always give us a bed of roses. But He promises that His faithfulness is new every morning. He also promises us that His grace is sufficient for us all! And yes, love never dies.

Watch this: God is Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=h60r2HPsiuM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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