1ST SAMUEL 3:15

"And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision."


Shall I tell my "Eli" what God has been unfolding within me? That is where the dilemma of obedience comes in. Most of the time I feel like shielding Eli,because he is the best person I know and respect.To complicate matters, Eli was a lone spiritual authority.God did not command Samuel to tell Eli -Samuel had to decide that for himself.And therein lies the great difficulty.

Never ask advice of another what you have to decide before God in the private chambers of your heart.If you start asking advice- you will almost always side with Satan. When Jesus revealed Himself to the Apostle Paul,Pauls response was reflected in his most solemn words- "Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood."

"...NO MORE PAIN." REV. 21:4

"....shall be no more pain for the former things things have passed away."

ABANDONED?

But the people of Jerusalem said,:"The Lord has abandoned us!He has forgotten us."So the Lord answers," Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child,I will never forget you.Jerusalem,I can never forget you! I have written your name on the palm of my hands." Isaiah 49:-14-16

One of the saddest features today in Malaysian society is the discovery of abandoned new born babies- sometimes in the garbage dumps,shallow graves and even in toilets.Sometimes the child is still alive but oftentimes it is not.One can hardly imagine how the surviving child will feel when he/she discovers their personal history when they grow up.Doubt there will me much pain and anguish.Memories like that are hard to erase.

But God has no reason to abandon His children for the simple reason that we are not born out of wedlock. God is married to His people.Though many marriages break down these days,but Gods marriage wont.Of course there will be tough times in the union-but He wont leave because He is a faithful God.

Hebrews put it this way" I will never leave you or forsake you,so we say with confidence, The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid.What can anyone do to me?" So whatever circumstance you find yourself in- face the day with faith.He will never abandon you!!

SHARING & CARING [HEBREWS 13:1-6]

In the year 2004, a person called casy Fenton co-founded a non-profit service that helps travellers find a "friendlier alternative" to unfriendly hotels.They find homeowners who are willing to offer their spare beds and couches to others. This particular groups boast almost a quarter of a million friendships that have been forged from their services.

This reminded me a lot about the Biblical passages relating to hospitality found in the Book Of Hebrews.The writer exhorted the believers to practice their faith in Jesus Christ through hospitality.

In the first century, hospitality often included housing a guest. That was a hard thing to do, especially during a time of persecution.But by entertaining strangers, the writer said, they would indeed be inviting a blessing into their homes.

As Gods people, we are called to be hospitable to others as part of our gratitude for the salvation we have received from God.

ON SERVANTHOOD

Recently there was research conducted by a leading compensation technology firm. They found as a fact that among employees planning to leave their companies,the majority felt that they were underpaid.Fewer than 20% of them,however,were receiving less than the industry standard for their duties.

Bill Coleman, of Salary.com believes that many unhappy workers are OVERTITLED RATHER THAN UNDERPAID.Some Companies give their employees lofty titles even thoug their job responsibilities have not increased.In time,employees feel they deserve more monies than their actual duties merit."When it comes to salary," Coleman says "ITS WHAT YOU DO, NOT WHAT YOU ARE CALLED,THAT COUNTS."
Its interesting to note how Jesus dealt with the issue of Titles and Responsibilities.During the Last Supper, He performed the task of a lowly servant by washing His disciples feet,setting the stage for His astonishing statement about humility." You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well for so I am.If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,you also ought to wash one anothers feet." John 13:13-14)

Christ the Lord set the example for all who would follow Him, confirming that its not what we are called,but what we do that counts.In substance,He humbly showed us how to serve and how to conquer pride. God Bless You

JEREMIAH 16:12

But you have done worse than your ancestors.All of you are stubborn and evil,and you do not obey me.

In the field of science and technology, there are always new innovations.Past devices are improved and people are attracted to the latest and the newest.Unfortunately,this trait is not limited to scientific inventions alone- the same mentality is portrayed in the area of sin.Jeremiah laments that the present generation have gone from bad to worse in their attitude towards the things of God.And the root cause is given in just 2 words- "stubborn & evil". Beware that you do not harden yourself in respect of spiritual things.When you develop a hardened attitude, it is difficult to unwrap oneself. Consider this sober words-" They say they are wise,but they are fools, instead of worshipping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire...."

It is bad when you abandon God- its even worse when God lets you have your choice and abandons you to your own hearts desire.."

Psalm 107:33-38

The Lord made rivers dry up completey,and stopped springs from flowing.
He made rich soil become a salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of the people who dwelt there.
He changed deserts into pools of water,and dry land into flowing springs.
He let hungry people settle there,and they built a city to live in.
They sowed the fields and planted grapevines and reaped an abundant harvest.
He blessed the people and they had many children.
he kept their herds of cattle from decreasing.

Life is generally unfathomable and even less predictable.Some live's just flourish, but this cannot be said for everyone else.We have heard the Rags to Riches story, but the Riches to Rags story is seldom talked about.I believe we can learn from both situations.I have seen rich men go down too.In fact we can read about these people everyday under the "NOTICE PEBANKRAPAN" section.
In prosperity,one tends to become haughty.Suddenly,they are not comfortable with their own church,and tend to find fault with church affairs.In poverty,one tends to become bitter.In whatever situation,put your trust in God.In the above situation, they had enough springs of water.They did not express gratitude. Instead it brought them much leisure,which in turn turned them to the exotic religions of the neighbouring nations.But eventually the springs dried up.God above may have given you much, or given you just enough to cope. May you have the heart to express gratitude in your personal situation. Vijay

IN THE DARKNESS

YOU,MY DISCIPLES ARE TO GUARD AND PRESERVE THE MESSAGES THAT GOD HAS GIVEN ME.THE LORD HAS HIDDEN HIMSELF FROM HIS PEOPLE,BUT I TRUST AND PLACE MY HOPE IN HIM. ISAIAH 8-16&17

ISAIAH 43:11

I ALONE AM THE LORD,THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE YOU.
I PREDICTED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN,AND THEN I CAME TO YOUR AID.
NO FOREIGN GOD HAS EVER DONE THIS;YOU ARE MY WITNESSES.
I AM GOD AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
NO ONE CAN ESCAPE FROM MY POWER;
NO ONE CAN CHANGE WHAT I DO.

ONCE UPON A TIME

PSALM 86:17

Psalm 86:17:

“Show me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast helped me,and comforted me.”

THE AMALEKITE [2 SAMEUL 1:5]

SO DAVID SAID TO THE YOUNG MAN WHO TOLD HIM," HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT SAUL AND HIS SON JONATHAN ARE DEAD?"....THEN THE YOUNG MAN WHO TOLD HIM SAID," AS I HAPPENED BY CHANCE TO BE ON MOUNT GILBOA,THERE WAS SAUL....HE SAID TO ME AGAIN,'PLEASE STAND OVER ME AND KILL ME,FOR ANGUISH HAS COME UPON ME,BUT MY LIFE STILL REMAINS IN ME,SO I STOOD OVER HIM AND KILLED HIM, BECAUSE I WAS SURE THAT HE COULD NOT LIVE AFTER HE HAD FALLEN.AND I TOOK THE CROWN THAT WAS ON HIS HEAD AND THE BRACELET THAT WAS ON HIS ARM,AND HAVE BROUGHT THEM HERE TO MY LORD..

The truth is,Saul committed suicide.But this guy,an Amalekite was weaving a story for King David. His reasoning was,since David and Saul were not on good terms-David would prabably be happy with the news of Sauls death and would surely give him a reward.David fell for the story.But David's response and reaction to this news was not what the Amalekite expected.The man paid with his life for the lie he brought to David.

It seems that the human species is brilliant at storytelling.Still others can narrate seeming events with intense feelings and emotion.But there is a downside to story telling- you never know when it may backfire.Amusing that many Christians are so vulnerable to negative stories about other people.Some advice to story tellers-

"Let all things be done for edifying"[1st Corinthians].And to those who have itching ears, that just attracts liars and gossipers -learn to say " I dont need to hear this." Many friendships and relationships have been ruined because of storytellers.Dont join them.Jesus once warned- Beware of the leaven of Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Today it needs to be added-" Beware of the leaven of the storytellers which is also hypocrisy" Vijay

Romana 12:16

Be of the same mind toward one another.Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Its rather difficult to be humble when you are more qualified than the next guy,and have a better job,better car and better health.For some,arrogance quietly sets in quickly.How many people,who after they had been promoted to a senior post,quicky transform overnight.In the process,we lose our long time friends and get new ones. One hopes the new ones are friends.They can turn out to be otherwise.

Of course,we can rationalize that our new status in life demands that we upgrade our lifestyle and be seen with the right people.But we have to admit,such thinking is only our own opinion.And the Bible warns us not to be wise in our own conceits.

The Christian attitude is to be maintain a humble attitude towards everyone.Especially with those who are not well off.Always remember where God brought you from. Vijay

I AM COMPLETELY CRUSHED!!

The Lord saved me from death,he stopped my tears and kept me from defeat,And so I walk in the presence of the Lord, in the world of the living,I kept on believing even when I said,"I am completely crushed"even when I was afraid and said-"No one can be trusted!" PSALM 116:8-11

WHATS THE SOURCE?

Yesterday someone needed to see me on an urgent basis.He told me his story angrily.That he just got sacked from his job.Produced a stack of documents which the Company had sent to him and the letters he had sent to the Company.A series of documents,all of them grievances, threats of dismissal and finally the forced resignation.At least that was what he said."They forced me to resign"

I paused here,sat back and told him- Behind all these letters is a strained relationship somewhere.Speak the Truth.Whom did you offend? He was silent for a while and said."It was my Supervisor".

Behind all the hurtful attitudes of people,there is a burning sensation in someones heart.Someone has been hurt,wounded,provoked, disrespected,lied to,or hurt by their own people.Regrettably,this happens in the church,too.It happens all the time.Not much has changed since the time Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth.

When relationships go bad,there is so much pain,so much anger.The desire for revenge,to even the score takes hold.That....@#$%^&***..In any conflicts,find out the source.Your responses too may not have reflected any maturity on your part.Think and re-examine your personal issues.Should I have uttererd those words? Maybe I should not have written that letter.Face the truth now!There's no more place for pretence.You have do this- before any solution is in sight.

Grace and Peace to You from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

P.S.I will be taking up the above brothers case in the Industrial Court.