My Dad is Love

Four boys were locked in a heated discussion at their local playground. The topic? The legendary, "My dad is better than your dad".

The first boy thumped his chest and said, "My dad is better than your dad! He's a body builder and he could easily beat any of your dads in a fight!"

"Oh yeah?" said the second boy. "My dad doesn't need to fight. He's a business man and he's so rich he can PAY someone to beat up your dad."

The third boy then takes out his handphone and starts playing a hit song with his mp3 player. "You guys think your dads are so cool? They're nothing compared to my dad. He's a singer and wrote this song himself!"

And the three argued and argued until they noticed the fourth boy was keeping quiet all along. He just stood there with a smug look on his face. "What are you smiling about? You haven't even said what's so great about your dad!"

"My dad?" said the last boy. "My dad's the best of all!" and he took out a photograph from his wallet and showed it to the other boys.

"My dad he loves me more than anything in the whole wide world."

God is so amazing in so many ways. Some people spend their entire lives learning and seeking His strength, His richness, His creative power and so forth. And though there is nothing wrong with seeking these characteristics of God because He is strong and rich and creative, there is one fundamental truth that we must understand. Above all else our Dad is love.

"But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." - 1 John 4:8

Above every side of God we seek to understand, we should firstly seek to understand the love of God because that is His very nature. After all, what good is it to know that our God is powerful or our God is rich or our God is the Creator if we don't know He loves us more than anything in this whole wide world? It's only when we know God is love, then can we fully trust in Him to be powerful, to provide and to create miracles for us.

You want to know how awesome is God? Understand His amazing love for you. God's love is the measure of his greatness.

If I'm ever going to brag about my Dad, I'd choose to say, "My Dad is love" any day.

I'd like to see you top that ;D

GOD LOVES YOU

picture taken from:

http://parentsareteacherstoo.com/

My Nerf Gun and I

Hey guys I'm sorry for the lack of updates! I was pretty busy the last few days but I will try my very best to update this blog daily because it's really been a blessing even for myself! Anyway, on to today's post:

Some of you may know that it was my 24th Birthday a few days ago (woo hoo 24 baybeh!). And some of you know may know a group of my friends bought me a nerf gun. And a maybe just a couple of you guys would know that it has been my little craze since I got it. What do I mean by craze? Well this is what it looked out of the box:

pfft~ child's toy :\

And this is what it looked after I was done modifying it:

now that's what I call a real toy :D

here have another look :D

And you know what? I didn't just do a paint job on the gun, I modified the inside too! I took the gun apart and adjusted the parts so that the gun would fire faster and further. I adjusted the springs, removed "unnecessary parts", sealed passages, etc. At the end of day I knew EVERY part of this gun. I knew the inner mechanics and I knew every inch of the exterior. I know every scratch mark, every paint stain (intentional and unintentional), everything that was good and even everything that didn't turn out so good.

But all in all I love my Nerf gun! I mean how could I not? I put in a lot of time, cash and effort into making it what it is!

And then I heard God reminding me of something: He put in a lot of time into us as well and loves us a million times more than how much I love my nerf gun.

Check out this awesome verse in the bible:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalms 139:13-14

Have you every made something with your own hands and really poured your heart into it? Well God did when He made you and I. The verse above used the word "knit" to describe the way God created us. He didn't snap His fingers and put us together; he knitted us together. Carefully, lovingly, wonderfully - that's what our Father created us.

And just like how I know every inch of the inside and outside of my nerf gun; God knows us inside out too because He made us. He knows all the good stuff and even all the bad stuff, and you know what? He loves us just the same! I mean how could he not? He put in a lot of time, effort and love into making you ;)

I pray that today you'll feel special because in God's eyes, you certainly are.

GOD LOVES YOU.

Carry Me Dad

Here's one more (unintentionally) parent themed reminder of God's love :D

I first saw this video on facebook awhile back and it really spoke to me. Not that I've ever ran in the Olympics or tore a hamstring before, but I have wanted to give up so many times. Well have a watch and you'll understand what I mean.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." - Hebrews 12:2-3 (New International Version)

The next time you feel like giving up, fix your eyes upon Jesus and you'll find the strength to keep running. Don't just focus not on His sacrifice though. Focus on the love that compelled him to sacrifice. Because there's no substance on earth that rocket-propels us forward like the unconditional love of Christ! Imagine if a human dad would carry his son out of love, what wouldn't your Father do for you out of His perfect love?

So the next time you feel like dropping out of the race, remember there's a God; your Dad in heaven who loves you so much, He can't resist when you cry out "carry me dad".

GOD LOVES YOU.

Mother's Love

Awhile ago I was thinking about my mum and the way she loves me and my sister. She doesn't do what you'd expect a "typical" mother to do most of the time. She doesn't cook dinner every night (because we're not always home!) or greet us in the morning with kisses (because she likes to sleep in). Instead I see her love for us in the details she remembers about me and my sister.

Take for example, when she buys Ipoh chicken rice for us. She knows I like to have rice instead of noodles and asks for extra packs of chili sauce because I like spicy food. She also buys an extra large portion of bean sprouts because she knows my sister loves them! She knows our favourite snacks and even knows which clothes belong to who when sorting the laundry.

When I see her effort to remember all these details I know without a doubt she loves us. She may forget addresses, phone numbers, people's names but she always remembers the details of the ones she love!

Now some of you may feel really appreciative of your mothers right now but before you text them or call them to tell them "I love you mum!", I want you to do something. Take your mum's love for you, magnify it about a couple of hundred billion times and that's how much God loves you. There's someone else who takes time to remember details about us - God. Take a look at this:

"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries." - Luke 12:6-7 (The Message)

As much as your mother loves you, God loves you even more! He even took the time to count the number of hairs on head! Mum I'm sorry, but the truth is God beats you in loving me! And you know what? Just as our mothers buy back the perfect Ipoh chicken rice for us because they know us well, God knows how to prepare the perfect plan for us because He knows us BEST. Trust in the One who knows you the best and loves you the most.

GOD (and your mother) LOVES YOU.

picture taken from:

http://www.andhrauniversity.info/gurukulam/newsletters/batch3/index.php

Car Wash Salvation

I wrote this once before in my previous blog (may it rest in peace) but after an excellent sharing from my intern in life group last Friday, I've decided to share this experience of mine again! Without further delay I present to you..

Car Wash Salvation

I was at a petrol station car wash one day with my sister. There weren't any "remarkable" happenings during that visit though. No explosions, no accidents, no robbery (if you were expecting something of the sort!); just a wonderfully "ordinary" reminder of God's great love.

As I sat there with my sister watching our cars get washed I noticed something: my car was the dustiest, muddiest, dirtiest car in the station (those who know me know it's not hard to imagine)! I mean, every car there could have used a cleaning, but mine really really needed it! It was a little embarrassing at first but then it struck me, every person received the same treatment but I walked away feeling the cleanest. Every person paid the same price but I felt I had the best deal - all because my car was the dirtiest.

There's a verse in the bible that says, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” (Luke 7:47 New Living Translation)

Somewhere, somehow people managed to believe that Jesus only died for "good" people. That the forgiveness of sins is only for those with "average" sins like lying, cheating on an exam or running a red traffic light. And this idea stops us from coming to God for forgiveness when we feel we've gone too far with "serious" sins (even though those times is when we need Him the most!).

The truth is, there is no standard for coming to God, just like how you wont be stopped from entering a car wash because your car is too dirty! Jesus died to forgive us of EVERY sin. Whatever that you've done, He loves you still and His power to forgive is always available and always effective.

Don't be afraid to come to Him when you feel the dirtiest, because as he showers you with His perfect love, you leave feeling cleaner than ever. He'll never turn you away no matter how dirty you are because He knows, the dirty ones love Him the most.

When was the last time you had a good cleaning from Dad?

GOD LOVES YOU

Pictures taken from:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/houston-car-wash-goes-back-to-basics.php

http://hoveyvintage.blogspot.com/2008/05/things-we-love-having-mom-and-dad-drive.html

God's Love Language

Love language is a term coined by Gary Chapman and it basically speaks about the ways love is communicated (at least I think that it means :D). Every person has a unique love language - expressing and appreciating love in our own special ways. Anyone who has dated would know this! Guys we know that a fancy dinner with swoon some ladies, but it'll also make certain ladies think of us as "trying too hard" or "wasting money only la!". So knowing your partner's love language is essential for not only expressing your love to that person, but also for receiving his or her love.

Now here's my question today, do you know God's love language?

I don't claim to know every spectrum of God's expression of love (it's too awesome to fully understand in this lifetime anyway!), but I do see one consistent expression of his love.

He Gives

God's deep love for us is always backed up by a loving act. He doesn't just tell us He loves us, He gives until it hurts to show He isn't all talk. Take a look at what the Bible defines as love:

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." - 1 John 4:10 (NIV)

This is love, that God could no longer stand to see us struggle only to lose over and over again to sin; He sent His one and only Son whom he loved dearly to pay for our sins in death. He didn't just say from afar, "Don't fear! I love you! You'll make it someday!". He came as a man to give until it hurts, to give until He died, all for the sake of love.

The God we read about in the Bible is the same God today. He still loves us the same way He loves in the Bible. Today, if you believe that the love of God is just an "idea" or a "warm fuzzy feeling", I want to challenge you to believe for more. Our God gives to express His love, so expect good things from Him. Go beyond emotions and believe to receive real, tangible expressions of His love. To end I'm going to leave you with another verse from the Bible:

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11

GOD LOVES YOU.

pictures from:

http://richard-paulabydesign.blogspot.com/2009/11/languages-of-love.html

http://www.upc.org/missions.aspx?id=40

You Complete God's World

How many times have you heard someone say something along the lines of "You complete me!" or "You made my world whole!". How many times have you also gone "Aww that's so sweet!" while thinking at the back of your mind "You're joking right? How corny can you get!"

Well as the title says, I want to tell you something that may shock some of you.

"You Complete God's World"

(yes let it sink in)

You want proof? Alright let's see how we completed God's world from the bible, and what better place to start than at the story of creation (some of you may already see what I'm getting at ;D)! If you have a bible with you (or even if you don't just google an online bible), have a look at whole first chapter of the book of Genesis.

Stage by stage, creation after creation, God would always comment on what has been made and many bibles translate His comment as "good". God looked at the sky and it was good, He made the mountains and it was good, He made plants and animals and he said that they were all good. And finally God created human beings, His most prized creation of all and said that it was very good, right? Wrong. Have a look at what at what verse 31 actually says:

"And God saw everything that he had made and that it was very good. There was evening, then morning—the sixth day."

Did you catch that? God didn't see humans and said they were very good. He saw EVERYTHING he made, every single thing in existence TOGETHER with his most recent creation (humans) and then he said it was VERY GOOD! All the beautiful things in this world - the sky, the mountains, the oceans, animals and plants; all those were only "good" until God created us.

You and I, we completed God's world (literally!). Compared to all of creation, even the most marvelous natural beauty, God loves you and I and the most. After all, we are the ones He died for to save. Not the deep blue seas or the lush tropical forests. He died for you, because you completed His world.

GOD LOVES YOU.

pictures taken from:

http://fashionablygeek.com/t-shirts/you-complete-me-shirt/

http://blog.sashani.me/page/2.aspx