ability to be still (Ps 46)

i chose this psalm for monday's prayer meeting. it brought great encouragement to my heart as we read it and prayed over it. looking through it again and realized this...

verse 8
"come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
10
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

verse 8 is the invitation to examine the LORD abilities. verse 9 is the proof of His abilities and 10 is the result of knowing who the LORD is and is able to do.

If the LORD is able to make wars cease to the ends fo the earth, what else can He not do? Nothing.

so why fret and worry? why fight the wars within and without? He has ceased it and brought peace. Receive and be still...

paying the price

not sure if anybody still reads this thing... (like how i crazily keep going back to check for updates on me frenz' blogs)(i'm insane) haha...

well, been doing some research for a paper on the impact of the cultural revolution on the house churches in china... started to read this book with rather descriptive story of some of the persecution....

dude! i almost cried on the MRT while i was reading it. still can't believe the intensity of their persecution and sufferings...

then was chatting with lai on msn yesterday talking about this thing.. realized this===>

the "miracle" of having so many Christians in china today is not coincidental. not like the so called fast and quick church growth guide that we see from some of the megachurches in sg. the "miracle" is of course the work of God... but also thru the price that these faithful men and women had to pay during all these years. the tremendous growth is not merely some kind of supernatural *ding*-you-are-a-Christian kind of thing but rather the lives that obedyed God's voice in doing the unthinkable (like cleaning up human waste in jail cells and thus bringing the entire prison to Christ)... dying for Jesus because they wouldn't compromise their faith in public (one story this man was buried alive)

i think... this is essential for church growth. but... how many people today in our comfortable world is willing to pay this kind of price?

God sent

happened to tell ms cloud that i would be going over to bring home the oven from crab tonight.

happened that we invited joseph to come to speak at ESC.

happened that he drives.

happened that he offered to send me home.... also to help me pick up the oven.

happened that reuben was around to help me bring the big oven up 11 fLs to my house...

coincidences? i'd rather think not. ^_^