The Hurdle of Hurt

Hello All,

All of us have been hurt before.

There are hurts that cut so deep that they are all that we can see at that very moment.

No matter how hard we try, we are unable to look beyond the hurdle of hurt.

The Hurdle of Hurt

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (27 September 2016)

A high hurdle stands in my way

It's growing higher by the day

I can't see past its highest peak

A stream of hurt flows from its creek

The hurdle of hurt is its name

It sets a high bar for its game

I can't see past its wicked bar

I see no victory from afar

God, help me see past this hurdle

For it's more than I can handle

Deep wounds are all my eyes can see

Please heal those hurts in your mercy

A high hurdle stands in my way

But it shields not the bright sunray

It stands not higher than the Cross

I'm found in Christ; no longer lost

'Father, forgive them,' was His plea

His plea for vile sinners like me

How could He forgive those who sin?

How could He love those who hurt Him?

God, give me the heart to forgive

To give others what I've received

I am struggling to show mercy

Help me, Lord; be patient with me

Points for Reflection:

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

(Luke 23:34a ESV)

·         Jesus experienced the cruelties of His enemies and the betrayal of loved ones.

·         He understands the pain of not being understood and of being mistreated.

·         He is not a God who looks down from heaven in divine indifference but He empathises with the emotional hurts we feel.

·         Despite those hurts, He chose to forgive.

·         Many of us struggle to forgive those who have hurt us. We know we should forgive others as God has forgiven us but we can’t.

·         Forgiveness is not churned out from sheer will power but it comes from our dependence on God’s work in our hearts as we cry out to Him in prayer.

·         We should be honest with God about the sadness and anger we feel towards those who have hurt us and ask Him to help us each day to forgive.

·         Allow His Spirit to work in our hearts to bring about the healing that our souls desperately need.

God’s Electrifying Love

Hello All,

Where does love originate from?

Are humans the source of love? Or is there a higher Source?

God’s Electrifying Love

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (2 August 2016)

A current so divine is flowing through our veins

Its strength and intensity we cannot contain

The current of God’s love is flowing from above

We’re conductors of God’s electrifying love

It was the Father’s love that nailed Christ to the tree

Christ bore the Father’s wrath in angst and agony

He cried out, ‘My God! Why have You forsaken Me?’

The answer is clear – He did it for you and me

A Gospel so divine is flowing through our veins

Its greatness and glorious grace we cannot contain

The Gospel of God’s love is flowing from above

We’re messengers of God’s electrifying love

Points for Reflection:

We love because God first loved us.

(1 John 4:19 ESV)

·         God is the Source of love. We are the recipients of His love.

·         We love imperfectly. But God loves perfectly.

·         We were made for a relationship with God. It is through this relationship that we are able to experience true love.

·         As we receive God’s love, we find that we are able to love others in a less selfish way.

·         If we are truthful with ourselves, we often show love to others in hopes that they will fill the void in our hearts with affection and meaning. The truth is, no human love can perfectly fill that void. Only God’s love can.

·         The Gospel is a beautiful expression of God’s love. While we were unlovable sinners, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place so that God’s judgment can be turned away from us. Christ sacrificed Himself for those who rejected Him. He experienced rejection from those He showed love to.

·         Who could we be showing God’s love to? Who could we be sharing the Gospel, the expression of God’s love, with?

I Thank God for Cookies

Hello All,

When was the last time you thanked God for the food you ate?

It is a good practice to remind ourselves to thank God for His daily providence that we so often take for granted.

Apart from enjoyment, we basically eat food to nourish and strengthen our physical bodies. Food is vital for survival.

However, we are often so focused on nourishing our physical bodies but we neglect and even starve our souls from the nourishment they need.

The Bible is food for the soul. God’s Word is readily available in printed as well as digital form. Yet it is one of the most neglected items on our priority list.

I Thank God for Cookies

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (2 August 2016)

I thank God for cookies and sugar in my tea

For candies and cakes laced with syrup and honey

I thank God for His gracious providence to me

For physical food, He provides me with daily

But more than mere food, help me to feed on Your Word

Help me to do and delight in what I have heard

May Your Word taste sweeter than cookies each day

May It renew my mind and guard each word I say

I thank God for cookies and sugar in my tea

But never more than His Word that nourishes me

I thank God for His gracious providence to me

For spiritual food, He provides me with daily

Points for Reflection:

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

(Psalm 119:103 ESV)

·         When was the last time you read the Bible?

·         Is reading the Bible just part of a daily chore or a task you deem unnecessary?

·         It is through the daily reading of God’s Word that we are able to learn more about God and grow in our love for Him.

·         God speaks to us through His Word. Isn’t it a privilege to hear God speak to us? It is definitely grander to hear the Word of God rather than the words of earthly kings.

·         God’s Word is vital for the survival of our souls. Feed on it. Cherish it. Love it.

Gracious God Above

Hello All,

We need God’s grace in the trials we face in the race of life.

It is by the grace of God that we who trust in Christ are saved from God’s judgment for our sins.

Eternal bliss awaits us but before we get there, we need God’s daily grace to face the challenges of life.

Gracious God Above

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (6 September 2016)

Dedicated to a dear friend for putting words into tune.

Gracious God above, grant me grace

Grant me grace in the trials I face

Grant me peace when I’m ill at ease

In You alone I find release

Gracious God above, grant me grace

Grant me grace as I run this race

Grant me joy despite endless toils

Storing riches that do not spoil

Gracious God above, grant me grace

Grant me grace to walk in good pace

Grant me love from heav’n above

Help me love with Your love

Points for Reflection:

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

(1 Peter 5:10 ESV)

·         Are you depending on God’s grace or your own strength as you face the trials of life?

·         Do the trials of life seem to last forever? Take heart for they only last for a little while. Hope in the future glory that you have in Christ.

·         Do you find it difficult to love people who seem unlovable? God loved us while we were yet sinners and unlovable rebels. He loved us even though we rejected His loving rule over our lives. Ask God to help you love those unlovable people.

·         Let us rely not on our finite strength but on God’s infinite grace and mercy as we sojourn the rough and rocky roads of this life. Let us love others with the love of Christ.

Do Not Lose Heart

Hello All,

It is all too easy to lose heart in the face of challenges, disappointments, and pain.

When we feel discouraged, rejected and hurt, the natural response is to recoil in anger, shame, and bitterness. We feel shortchanged and victimised.

We go through life hoping to find happiness and fulfillment. But we find fleeting moments of happiness too unfulfilling and the seemingly eternal episodes of sorrows too overwhelming.

Maybe we have been investing our hopes in the wrong places. Those places may be good things that we can thank God for – human relationships, good health, ambitions, and achievements. But if we make those things our ultimate aim in life, we will never find lasting satisfaction.

Do Not Lose Heart

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (22 August 2016)

This is a broken world we’re living in

A world suffering the effects of our sin

Look at the world, the news – what do we see?

Look at your life, the pain – what do you see?

This is a broken world we’re living in

We are suffering the effects of our sin

We hope but we’re greatly disappointed

We love but we’re blatantly rejected

Should we stop hoping? Should we stop loving?

Should we stop giving? Should we stop caring?

Why hope when hoping only disappoints?

Why love those who hurt us? What is the point?

Why open your heart when others do not?

Why leave your love out in the air to rot?

Why leave your heart unsheltered from the rain?

Why love when loving only brings you pain?

Maybe this pain leads to a greater one

Maybe this sorrow compels us to run

To run to the cross where love never fails

To hope in Jesus Christ when storms assail

Though others fail us, we do not lose heart

For true love is found in Christ, our rampart

Who reconciled us to God, the Father

Who saved us and loves us like no other

Points for Reflection:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

(2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV)

·         Earthly troubles are temporal and will pass away in the light of God’s glory.

·         For those who hope in Christ, our inner self is being renewed day by day as God’s Word transforms our hearts and mind to become more like Him.

·         Despite earthly pains, God is strengthening us every step of the way. We are but sojourners on this earth. This world is not our home. Our eternal citizenship is in heaven, a place with no more sorrows and tears but only joy.

·         Are you losing heart in the face of challenges, disappointments, and pain? Do not lose heart but turn your gaze to the cross where all earthly pains dim in its light.