Flying with Crows

It is difficult to soar like an eagle if you're surrounded by crows.

Imagine a baby eagle raised by crows.

Would that eagle one day soar high above the skys and crags of mountain peaks? Maybe.

Would that eagle become a vicious scavenger that flaps its mighty span high enough to spot the next rotting pile of leftovers or maggot infested carcass of a runover dog? Maybe.

Would that eagle cackle and caw like a cowardly crow for dead meat instead of shrieking its paralyzing scream before striking down its prey? Maybe.

Three maybe's are just not good enough if you want to soar like an eagle and not a crow.

Are you an eagle? Or a crow? Or simply your good old next door farm chicken?

What does it matter if you shrill, caw, or cackle?

What does it matter if you soar, scavenge, or plain scratch for worms?

It matters. If you're an eagle.

The Third "Redemption by Annihilation"

I did come across the mention of Redemption by Annihilation the third time. Wow! Food for thought!

The third encounter was full of repeated mentions in the Bible .

In the Old Testament, the vanquished are selectively "devoted" to God. Everytime Israel was specifically instructed to "finish" off their enemies, and they didn't, the ended up suffering for their disobedience.

God knew that for Israel to be set apart unto Him (redeemed) as a peculiar nation, they had to rid themselves of certian groups of people. Although it seem heartless to kill them off, to allow them to live mostly resulted in the contamination and defeat of Israelite tribes eventually.

God knows.

What does this mean to the church in this season?

To those who seek to understand and those who seek to undermine, their portion will surely come to them.

What does it matter to you who seek?

Living with Pain

Recently, I decided to visit my physio-therapist, after vacillating for a month. Not until I have endured pain on my right elbow for as long as half-a-year and when I can't lift light objects like even a chair because of the pain.

And previously, I had this pain on my back for years. Can't remember how the accummulated bumps and falls I had over a span of years added to the injury. In any case, i finally did, and the physio did the job after a month of treatment. Then again, God healed through her.

This time would be the same. I'm so blessed to have enjoyed God's grace for all these while.

But then again, why did I choose to endure and live with the pain, however miniscule?

(more to come)

Redemption by Annihilation

I have been thinking about God's solution for mankind. Why it has to be the way it had been. And how this strategy flows down to our earthly sojourn.

Then I saw this article in New STraits Time's technologogy pullout: Redemption by Annihilation.

This morning, I saw the on NST's front page: Redemption. And I thought, wow! If I see that word jump out at me one more time, then I'll be inclined to continue thinking what I have been thinking and see how this little coincidence can be fixed.

Drastic Change

Change is certain.

The world is evolving. Governments rise and fall. Nations war to maintain their supremacy. People claw their way up the power ladder in their lives, whether at work, play, or business. Even in the privacy of families, we observe some sort of pecking order.

That pecking order changes all the time.

We are at the threshold of change this season. Not just nationally, not just regionally, but globally.

Drastic change.

Those who do not embrace the change will be left behind.

Those who resist the change will be left behind.

Those who move with the change will follow the crowd, eventually.

But the question is, who's starting the change? Who is leading the change?

As surely as change sweeps across the globe, change will also grip and unsettle the church. This is nothing new. We have seen such change coming upon the church repeatedly when men rest on the laurels of their political complacency and insecurities.

Revival is upon us.

Hallelujah!

A Common Malady

IN Mark 8:24, when Jesus was healing a blind man, he asked him what he saw and the blind man replied: I see people like trees walking.

(That means still blurr la....)

Jesus laid hands again and after this, the blind man could see clearly.

Thankfully the blind man didn't stumble away after he was healed the first time. Thankfully Jesus asked the blind man what he saw. For us all, thankfully, it means when Jesus restores our sight, the healing is complete. Meant to be vision 20/20. Nothing less than that.

Are you and I content with our healing? Or are we suffering a common malady - incomplete healing. Not because God cannot or won't but because we think we see OK la although still blurr-blurr one.

In the world of psychiatry, many people are neurotics. That means they experience a mental disorder characterized by depression, obsession, anxiety, and hypochondria. They get offended easily and they react quickly to perceived assaults.

Scientifically, the word neurotic points to how neurons fire away messages to our brains and triggers action.

Over time, real or imagined, our pre-occupation with how we see and react to situations eventually reinforce our suspicions and we end up believing what we previously wonder about.

Deluded.

This is a common malady.

A serious condition.

We are sick.

We need the Healer.

We need the final touch of Jesus Christ.