Let Your Eyes Look Straight Ahead

Proverbs 4:23, 25-27 (NKJV)
Keep your heart with all diligence. For out of it spring the issues of life.....
Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Keep our hearts with all diligence. Now how do we do that? Why? Because from out of it spring issues of life.

Look straight ahead.... sometimes we do tend to get off focus and stumble when our eyes are off the tracks aren't they. Actually all the time. Like when we start looking at others paths and we start to think ... Oh theirs look so much better, so much easier... i'm sure if i had that path i'll do better... but in actual fact its just not possible. Because when you really think about it, God knew exactly which path would fit us best. Just as the owner of the vineyard knew exactly how much to give his three servants. He knew according to their potential and capabilities and judged each one accordingly. And when we start to compare we would definitely stumble. The only way to stay on course and making sure we are doing right is to Look straight ahead! And let our eyelids not batter but focused on our individual course.

Ponder the path of my feet. - If there is a pebble or stone or boulder i see coming i have to avoid it. It would be absolutely stupid for me to go over it and expect God to move it by faith so that i don't have to fall... Which i must say alot of us do so conciously or unconciously... most times conciously. Like choices in life. Choices of employment, marriage partners, friends, homes to buy, education

Let your ways be established. - There is a place for risk. But if we know the risk we take is going to get us into trouble and we can't exactly see any results coming ... the answer is quite simple.

Do not turn to the right or to the left. - If one knows what one has to do and not doing it.... that is utter stupidity. Diverting or diviating is utter nonsense. And if you fall down and hurt yourself in the process, its your fault!

Remove your foot from evil. - Now why didn't this translation say "feet" instead. It says foot. Singular foot. Come to think of it... when one foot goes forward the other is definite to follow. so all this has to be established in the mind then the eye then the foot....

Yikes! I'm turning 40 in two days!!!

I absolutely can't believe time has passed by so fast and now i'm standing on a threshold. A milestone. Whatever else you may call it. Its scarry. The last I felt like this was when i was hitting the big 30.

I tell people who ask what does it feel like that i don't feel like i'm 40. i feel like i'm only 28. Its probably my maturity level uh? Sad isn't it.. And then they say... its only a number. But its not even that....

The feeling is ..... have i wasted my life. What have i been doing all this while. Have i missed out on something else. What if, what if... i know this sounds pathetic, but that's exactly how i feel. I'd like to put on a brave front and show the world that i am so happy and not afraid of the future and that it doesn't bother me.... but the actual fact is .... i am ..... sad... down... worried.... anxious.... fearful.....

Although everybody would say... "Awww, its only a number, life is what you make of it, think of all the opportunities, etc etc etc.... but at this point i just can't. Although the world tells you otherwise they actually brand you as a Old hag......

Knowing our Roles

There has been some tension in our home. My mother is interfering in the selling of Wilson's and Jasmin's house. i've told her over and over again to let it go and let them handle it. They are old enough to know and do things but i just don't understand why my mother has to butt in. She feels she knows better and does what is best. She still feels that they are teenagers who don't know what they are doing. Giddy headed fools. My mother has crossed her boundaries and lives a life of control. She wants it.

i really don't know what to say and how to say it to her because any way i do it she will get hurt and sensitive about the issue.

I realise how important it is to run the race marked out for "US" and not for someone else even if we think we know what they ought to do about their lives. How do i make my mother understand this. And its not only her, but her sisters as well.

A short get-away does alot of good.

I've just returned from a three day get-away to Singapore. Nothing fancy. Drove down with a few friends and stayed at my sister's place. We didn't go anywhere fancy or expensive. We spent alot of time just resting, sleeping, watching TV, eating, walked out to the nearby mall and went for a night safari. Did a little shopping for small souvenirs and came home. It was so refreshing. The change in atmosphere, surrounding, people, place.

I realise that it takes so little to refresh oneself. Just get away for the weekend. A change of atmosphere and place just helps one refresh and get back into perspective and recharged to enter the monotonous life again.

ROCKING THE BOAT

by Max Lucado. From book "In the Grip of Grace"

God has enlisted us in his navy and placed us on his ship. The boat has one purpose - to carry us safely to the other shore.

This is no cruise ship; its a battleship. We aren't called to a life of leisure; we are called to a life of service. Each of us has a different task. Some, concerned with those who are drowning, are snatching people from the water. Others are occupied with the enemy, so they man the cannons of prayer and worship. Still others devote themselves to the crew, feeding and training the crew members.

Though different, we are the same. Each can tell of a personal encounter with the captain, for each has received a personal call. He found us among the shanties of the seaport and invited us to follow Him. Our faith was born at the sight of His fondness, and so we went.

We each followed Him across the gangplank of His grace unto the same boat. There is one captain and one destination. Though the battle is fierce, the boat is safe, for our captain is God. The ship will not sink. For that, there is no concern.

There is concern, however, regarding the disharmony of the crew. when we first boarded we assumed the crew was made up of others like us. But as we've wandered these decks, we've encountered curious converts with curious appearances. Some wear uniforms we've never seen, sporting styles we've never witnessed. "Why do you look the way you do?" we ask them.

"Funny," they reply. "we were about to ask the same of you." The variety of dress is not nearly as disturbing as the plethora of opinions. There is a group, for example, who clusters every morning for serious study. They promote rigid discipline and somber expressions. "Serving the captain is serious business," they explain. It's no coincidence that they tend to congregate around the stern. There is another regiment deeply devoted to prayer. Not only do they believe in prayer; they believe in prayer by kneeling. For that reason you always know where to locate them; they are at the bow of the ship.

And then there are a few who staunchly believe real wine should be used in the Lord's supper. You'll find them on the port side. Still another group has positioned themselves near the engine. They spend hours examining the nuts and bolts of the boat. They've been known to go below deck and not come up for days. They are occasionally criticised by those who linger on the top deck, feeling the wind in their hair and the sun on their face. "It's not what you learn, those topside argue. "It's what you feel that matters."

and, oh, how we tend to cluster.

Some think once you're on the boat, you can't get off. Others say you'd be foolish to go overboard, but the choice is yours.

Some believe you volunteer for service; others believe you were destined for the service before the ship was even built.

some predict a storm of great tribulation will strike before we dock; others say it won't hit until we are safely ashore.

There are those who speak to the captain in a personal language. There are those who think such languages are extinct.

There are those who think the officers should wear robes, there are those who think there should be no officers at all, and there are those who think we are all officers and should all wear robes.

And, oh, how we tend to cluster.

And then there is the issue of the weekly meeting at which the captain is thanked and His words are read. All agree on its importance, but few agree on its nature. some want it loud, others quiet. Some want ritual, others spontaneity. Some want to celebrate so they can meditate; others meditate so they can celebrate. Some want a meeting for those who've gone overboard. Others want to reach those overboard but

Anwar got arrested again today. He was arrested exactly 10 years ago for some charges similar to this one. And all this now.... during our election year and the opposition party being the winning party where Anwar is one of its leaders.

The mudslinging, the cover up, the hideous crimes, the evil that is happening. I'm just worried for all those doing the evil and the extent of the evil. I'm worried about what is awaiting them at the hands of the one above them.

These evil doers don't realise it or what? they act like God does not exist and is not watching. Or if he does exists, he is either blind or deaf or senile. thats how 'these' people act. I'm just waiting and praying for Him who is above all authorities to act. And i know and am confident He will!!

Potter's Field

Matthew 27

Thirty Silver Coins

1-2 In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.

3-4Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, "I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man."

They said, "What do we care? That's your problem!"

5Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.

6-10The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn't know what to do with them. "It wouldn't be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple." They decided to get rid of it by buying the "Potter's Field" and use it as a burial place for the homeless. That's how the field got called "Murder Meadow," a name that has stuck to this day. Then Jeremiah's words became history:

They took the thirty silver pieces,
The price of the one priced by some sons of Israel,
And they purchased the potter's field.
And so they unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter.

Finishing touches on the plot...

Its all a drama. The stage, the characters, the plot, the action..... Life is such. And we humans think arrogantly that we plan the motions of our lives when it is God who has the details all worked out. i would like to see the faces the chief priests and high priests on the day they face our Maker. The shock!

Judas is overcome with remorse....

Judas was sorry for his sin. He was remorseful. There is actually no difference between Judas and Peter. No one did the greater evil. Both betrayed the Lord. and yet only one turned and confessed to Him. If only Judas had said he was sorry, he would be with Jesus today. Instead he took his remorse and punished himself not allowing the one who gave Himself for our punishment to take his place. How sad. And how many people today do just that thinking it would get them on the good books with God. and how sad that they don't know that their crime has been paid for. that they have been bailed out. Same crime. Betrayal. two different reactions. Is there any sin that He can't forgive. skeptics would argue and say, ' o but judas didn't have a choice. he was destined to be the betrayer. it was prophesied of him. he was just fulfilling his destiny. God is unjust to do what He did...'

But think about it ..... Judas had a choice. And God knew ever detail even before it happens. He knows every detail of our lives. He just published what He already saw happening. Judas had a choice to repent. Be remorseful, but say i'm sorry. Repent. He didn't!

The high priest actually were trying to do what was right... HAH!

Can you imagine the irony. the paradox of the situation. Here were a bunch of guys who are spiritual leaders trying to keep the law. On one hand they plotted murder. And not just anyone but God Himself. They murdered the one who gave them the law. Its like watching some pottery stage a riot and beat up the potter and burn his workshop. Then, when Judas throws the money back. ... O they can't ignore it.... after all its money and it can be used to help the poor right! HAH! But, but... o ... its 'payment for murder'. they even acknowledged it was murder. Hmmm..... interesting how people justify their actions.

Imagine a meeting of church elders and there they present the accounts for the month. and one column says... Payment for murder - 30 pcs silver . And the other, not knowing how to term it they probably called it a donation - 30 pcs silver. And to make sure the money doesn't stay in the treasury. they purchase a field .... and not just any field. a field to bury the poor and homeless. I can imagine a meeting with them discussing this. ' Hmm..... i don't think the entries sound right. What if the generations to come read this. or what if the next committee who take over start questioning us.... We better take it out. Just fill in the entry as miselaneous - 30 pcs of silver.'and just buy the field and put it as a donation given out. and the money judas returned as a donation too.'

The Potter's Field

Do you have a potter's field of your own?

Jeremiah's words became history

i love this phrase. Where else can you find a book where the prophecy and its fulfillment are written in one book!

Everything in the Word will become history one day. And thats Jesus coming again in glory to set up His millennial Kingdom too. and even the fact that one day He will blow the trumpet and call us, His beloved Home at the rapture. This may sound wierd, but, i actually imagine it happening in my lifetime. My eyes open immediately sometimes in the night when i'm fast asleep at the sounds of some stirring. i think its the angels coming to take us home.