God is Always Ready to Mould You

It's tough to keep up with the posts. Especially now, when I am trying to finish my Architecture design these. I still want to try and be as consistent as possible. So I took some time to reflect on one of my 12 going to the army. It also serves as a reminder for me to hang in there and push on during this crucial period. You will find this post familiar if you frequent our tribe blog. :)


Last Sunday, we had a mini-initiation for one of my 12 who was going to "book in" for the first time on Monday to Tekong (the start of many more memorable book-ins...). Yups, Luke, my young padawan was just about to begin his training to become a jedi knight! Ermm, Luke Weeleopardcrawler perhaps? Ha ha. While, the process of change in the Army has often been described as "when a boy becomes a man", I have come to know that this is not necessarily true. As in, I have seen many people come out of Army pretty much still the boy they went in. More skeptical, depressed and perhaps, vulgar even.

The discipline and training in the army develops our character and pushes us to see ourselves for who we really are. It is in the tiring and "wah, I just want to give up" situations that our true colours are revealed and displayed for all the world to see. Some of us might be surprised or even shocked to see who or what lies beneath our normally pleasant and gentle self. However, the change and transformation does not come just by being part of the hardship. Those times only serve to reveal our weaknesses (and strengths too) if we choose to just be a passerby.

Change and transformation come only when we determine to persevere through and not give up. They come when we challenge the obstacles that hold us back and push forward to break the barriers that existed only in our minds. We grow in our character when amidst all the hardship, we can still pick ourselves up and be a blessing to someone else. This calls for sacrifice and a mindset of putting others above ourselves.


The reason why I found myself reflecting on all these is because I realised that the Army of God is not much different! Trainings like Encounter, Post-Encounter, SOL and the rest of the Ladder of Success and meant to built in certain spiritual disciplines in our lives. It's not easy for all of us to wake up early on a Sunday morning to be there to learn and receive but it's necessary. Being there itself does not change and transform us. It just reveals the condition of our heart before God! Being faithful to His word and applying it to our lives is what will build character. Godly character.

From my experience in the army (a few years ago...heh) I have learnt some principles that will help us in our walk with God.



1. Personal Determination
People enter the army with different mindsets. Some just want to go in and do the least. Others, try to make the best out of whatever vocation they are posted to. These are people who benefit the most. In the same way, our Christian growth starts with us determining to make something out of it. It begins with us saying, "Yes! I want the approval of God more than the approval of man!" While this might be inspired by your pastor or a great speaker of your G12 leader, it is a conviction that has to come from within you. You have to make a personal choice to do so!



2. Being with the Community
One of the best thing about the army is that you realise you are not the only one "suffering". Even when punishment is meted out, it is seldom the case that you go through it alone. Having people who are in the same situation with you makes for great encouragement. It is then that we can spur each other on positively.

While life is often less accommodating and we find ourselves in situations where nobody else seems to understand, it is important to surround yourself with people whom you can trust to help and encourage you. This is where your spiritual family come in. It is when we are among people whom we can trust to correct us when necessary but yet not judge us for the mistakes we make, that we can grow healthily.



3. Growing from strength to strength
In the army, after BMT (Basic Military Training) comes SISPEC, OCS or UNIT LIFE. After each phase of training, there is always another that presents greater challenges and opportunities. It is easy to grow complacent and enter the next phase of training with a more "bo chap" attitude if we are not careful. Sometimes, it is not so much out of complacency but out of tiredness. Imagine coming back from a 24 hour route march and then coming to terms with the fact that you will be off to Taiwan in 2 weeks for a 3 week training. There are lots of logistics to prepare for, you are physically tired and you have just been awarded 2 "extras" (extra duties given as punishment in the army) for forgetting to complete something. It takes great effort to push on!

Our Christian walk is no different. God wants us to grow from strength to strength. He does not want us to be complacent with what we have or who we are. It is when we become complacent in our spiritual walk that begin to entertain thoughts of "I can sort of do it on my own liao. I sort of don't need God." or "When is all these going to end? Where is God when I need Him? Is God still real???" The key is this. If we have built our foundations well, then we do not start from zero. We know to trust God and His sovereignty. We know to do our best and let God handle the rest. We know to depend on God and not on our own understanding. We have done all those before. But we need to do it even more now. That is how we will grow from strength to strength, and from glory to glory in the eyes of God.

Some of you know that I am going through a stressful period in school. I have had many thoughts of giving up and why this and that and how and what ifs and what nots and what's going to happen and why am I like that and why can't God just take it all away. The above post is my way of saying, in my hardship, I hope I can still be a blessing to the people around me. Writing it out, I am encouraged to press on in my own life and see God's grace at work in my life. I don't have all the answers to what I am going through, but God does. And my prayer for myself and for you too is that you will learn what it means to depend on God and grow from strength to strength. I leave you with a photo of Luke and the guys. And yes, and we celebrate each of you who is a soldier for Christ too. :)

Living the way God wants us to

From Chapter 10 onwards to Chapter 30, Solomon expounds on the principles of wisdom in the book of Proverbs. While, the first 9 chapters of Proverbs was a call to accept wisdom and avoid foolishness and wickedness, this second section goes more into detail about the specific virtues of wisdom or WHAT is wisdom.

It is interesting to note how Chapters 10-15 are written using the word "but" to contrast the ways of the wise and the foolish, while Chapters 16-22 focus more on using the word "and". In the latter case, the word "and" is used to emphasise the point made. (In Hebrew poetry, when each half of the same verse is joined with the word "and", the second half is usually of the same meaning and is used to emphasise the point made in the first half of the verse.) In Chapters 23 -30 the proverbs are grouped into topics covering various issues on practical living.

Having read Chapters 10-12, two things strike me.

1. The principle of sowing and reaping.
For every action, there is a consequence. 10:1 - "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother." 10:17 - "He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." Every verse that speaks about the virtues of wisdom and what it will bring you contrasts with another that speaks about wickedness and its punishment.

More than just rules and guides to living, underlying the verses is a strong emphasis on the character of a Godly man as one who pursues righteousness, discipline and humility and is always willing to give. 11:2 - "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." 11:24 - "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty." 10:16 - "The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment."

2. A strong emphasis to living by Biblical values
This might sound like a rhetorical statement. But I believe that many of us often give in to the ways of values of the world even embracing them, especially when it seems that everyone is doing it. Solomon doesn't give any excuses for it. He states it as it is. Proverbs 11:7 - "When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes nothing." 11:28 - "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf."

These are the ways of the Lord. They are a refuge for the righteous. The values and principles of the society we live in change like the wind. People will make a strong case for whatever they believe in whether right or wrong. In fact, right and wrong to a certain extent has become a relative term often decided by whoever has the biggest voice and greatest influence. We must not be deceived, the Lord's standards never change. His values are consistent throughout. We must hold on tightly and jealously to them.

Lord, teach me to live by your ways and be renewed in my mind so that I can have the wisdom to know your righteousness!

Sowing the right seeds

I have been meditating on what pastor preached about during service on Sunday. His message was titled "Living life according to the law of Sowing and Reaping." In summary, this is the message outline.

1. We reap WHAT we sow. Do not be deceived.
There is a Consequence to every action that we make. Galatians 5:7 tells us, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." What you sow in your life you will definitely reap. If you sow banana seeds, you will get a banana tree. If you sow apple seeds do not expect to get a durian tree! Galatians 5 seems to imply a certain finality about this. It is God's law that cannot be changed!

We need Clarity to know the things in our lives that are not pleasing unto God. Hebrews 3:7-9 tells us not to harden our hearts when we hear the Lord's voice. Many times, we deceive ourselves by telling ourselves that we are ok when we are not.

2. We reap AFTER we sow. Do not be discouraged.
Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." It is altogether possible that we do the right thing, and yet not reap its harvest if we do not press on till the end! The process of sowing is not easy. It often involves patience, and a lot of hard work (Psalms 126:5-6). There is a also only a window of opportunity for the sowing. All the more, we need to press on for the season of sowing will not last forever. Harvest WILL come!

3. We reap MORE than we sow. Do not be calculative.
Out of one seed comes a whole tree of oranges with many more seeds. There is multiplication in the harvest! But this multiplication is condition on how much we are willing to sow, (2 Cor 9:6-8). All of us need to decide for ourselves how much we are willing to sow.

I was very moved by this message. It is a very powerful message that has many truths in it. Do you know what you are sowing in your life? If you don't, now is a good time to take stock and reflect. The truth is, there will probably be some things that are more obvious to you, and many others that you have sown subconsciously or unintentionally. It is these that are dangerous and which I urge you to be careful about. I realised that there are things in my life that I struggle with today, that are really the consequences of what I have been sowing in my life bit by bit unknowing of the "bad harvest" it would one day bring. Some of these have become huge tress with deep roots that require drastic measures to chop off.

One of the bad seeds that I have sown is that of procrastination and ill-discipline. I see now that it has grown to become a weed that acts like a parasite by first deceiving its host of its "benefits" and then slowly straggling its host so that the host is unable to produce anymore good seeds. The basis of procrastination is that it provides a momentary escape. A quick relief of not doing what needs to be done. It is all about self-gratification often disguising itself as some form of self-pity.

When full grown, procrastination produces fruits of ill-discipline. This fruit has the ability to suck all the will power and hope out of anyone who comes into contact with it. As Galatians 6 encourages us to NOT GIVE UP so that we will see the harvest, the fruit of ill-discipline discourages you and makes you ineffective and tired, even to the point that you fail to experience God's victory in many areas of your life.

Imagine how many of our youth today are sowing bad seeds without realising the consequence it will bring them in the future. Bear in mind that the principle of multiplication is not just limited to a good harvest. Sow the wrong seeds and you will produce a bumper crop of weeds and poisonous fruits! It is true that we are being deceived even as Paul warns in Galatians 6:7! Many of our youth today are too proud too take correction. They are deceived in thinking that they are sowing the right seeds when they are not. There is a need for us to pray and to speak wisely into their lives. It is time to be absolutely brutal in getting rid of the bad crops and planting new seeds that will glorify God. Thank God for His redemptive purpose in our lives so that it is never too late to start anew.

For myself, I am determined to uproot whatever procrastination and ill-discipline that is left in my life. Sometimes, it seems that the roots have grown so thick that their stranglehold is suffocating. But I will press on. I am clearing the land. I will burn it down if I have to. I have decided that I will only sow good seeds from now on. Seeds that will bring a mighty harvest that is worthy of a sacrifice unto God. Join me.