In Our Weakness, His Strength is Made Perfect

I came across this article on Angela's blog (totally random person I chanced upon through the nexus of internet).

What an assuring post it turned out to be, a reminder of how weak I am and how strong He is. Just the dose of comfort I needed.

To those out there who feel as if you're marginalized, small, weak, self-conscious and feel as if you can't take another step forward and no longer desire to breathe the air of today and tomorrow, I pray that you'll be blessed and be encouraged by her post.

**************************************************************************

Advent: Hope For The Weak (19th December 2008)

I am a weak person.

My life has been, for the most part, comfortable, so I often lack the ability to stand up for myself. I’m thin with few muscles worth mentioning. My voice does not demand attention on its own. I cry once a week. I tend to lack self-confidence.

In other words, I am a weak person.

The season of Advent for weaklings like me, however, shines as a glimmer of hope. Today’s readings remind me of this fact: in the history of salvation, God uses the weak to lead the strong. For some reason, the Almighty God of the Universe likes to manifest Himself through people like me.

He raises disgraced, barren mothers to become mothers of the greatest prophets. He raises self-conscious men to bear His message. He raises a poor shepherd boy to become the greatest king in a nation’s history. He raises a disgraced, unwed teenager to become the mother of God Incarnate.

And for some reason, God wants to be among the weak. He humbles Himself to become a baby lying in a feeding trough. He humbles Himself to touch the skin of the untouchables. He humbles Himself to love the disgraced adulteresses, thieving tax collectors, even the man whom He knows will betray Him. He even humbles Himself to die the worst death He possibly could as a despised, forsaken criminal.

Why does God choose the weak?

I will not presume to say I know the answer to such a question of Providence. But I will say that for a person like me, all this proves that God is love. It is so easy to “love” a strong person. But to love someone with weaknesses, faults, whom few others like-that takes real love.

God’s preference for the weak also manifests His omnipotence. From this history of weaklings, God has brought salvation. From the lowest of the low, God has brought the greatest of all victories.

In short, our learning the history of God’s work among us tells us His message:

I love you, no matter what.

You have nothing at all to fear.

Stay close to me; whatever you lack,

I will fill.

I hope I learn this lesson.

**************************************************************************

I hope I learn this lesson too.

May God bless you, fill you and speak to you.

Read more...

The Photographer

Snapshots of memories flashes in the mind,
As if newly taken from the lenses of the heart,
Smile, tears, laughter -- all wrapped into one,
How did it all begin when I'm left now with none.

The colour is fading - washed away by the drizzles of liquor,
Intoxication left unattended loses its essence,
Can the texture be immortalized and forever be remembered?
How can it be, when all that's left is but remnants of ember.

The frame of the picture is decaying slightly away,
It stands no more on that wooden coffee table,
The fragmented frailty of time cannot be reversed,
All it does is to look upon the future of which it athirst.

The photographer fiddles his tool searching for his niche,
But his earthly being could find none to which he befits,
He stares into the distance - uninspired and in despair,
There must be more than this, all this vanity fair.

Then a man walks by and taps his back,
He takes the tool and stands in the gap,
The Man became the artist and he the object,
He snaps a shot and in it, made all things perfect.

Within the kaleidoscope of his eclectic sentiments,
He kept the futile present yet made him the very absence,
But forthwith, a clean roll of film has been replaced,
O, how the sins of his time has now been made effaced!

Beyond the horizon lies a new perspective,
One taken from a perculiar angle seen only from above,
The ephemeral joys of each moment last for a day,
But in His arms of eternal love forever I can lay.

Read more...

Dare To Live

I chanced upon this song entitled "Dare to live" while I was in gym (yes, of all places).
Been trying to figure out who's the singer and found out (through the means of internet) that it's actually the great Andrea Bocelli himself, featuring Laura Pausini.
Awesome song.

Lyrically, it speaks about making a mark,
Making a difference today and in the future.
The title itself is a challenge,
"Dare to live".
And it's Bocelli, you gotta love Bocelli.



Dare To Live (Andrea Bocelli feat. Laura Pausini)
Try looking at tomorrow not yesterday
And all the things you left behind
All those tender words you did not say
The gentle touch you couldn't find

In these days of nameless faces
There is no one truth but only pieces
My life is all I have to give

Dare to live until the very last
Dare to live forget about the past
Dare to live giving something of yourself to others
Even when it seems there's nothing more left to give

Ma se tu vedessi l'uomo
Davanti al tuo portone
Che dorme avvolto in un cartone,
Se tu ascoltassi il mondo una mattina
Senza il rumore della pioggia,
Tu che puoi creare con la tua voce,
Tu, pensi i pensieri della gente,
Poi, di Dio c'e solo Dio.

Vivere, nessuno mai ce l'ha insegnato,
Vivere, non si può vivere senza passato,
Vivere è bello anche se non l'hai chiesto mai,
Una canzone ci sarà, qualcuno che la canterà

Dare to live searching for the ones you love
(Perché, perché, perché, perché non vivi questa sera?)
Dare to live no one but we all
(Perché, perché, perché, perché non vivi ora?)
Dare to live until the very last
(Perché, perché, perché la vita non è vita)
Your life is all you have to give (Perché)
non l'hai vissuta
Vivere!

Dare to live until the very last
(Perché, perché, perché Ia vita non è vita)
Your life is all you have to give (Perché)
non l'hai vissuta mai

I will say no (I will say yes)
Say dare to live
Dare to live

Read more...

I wonder, do you know him?

Read more...

Urgency

It's funny how someone's death can cause us to awake from our contented slumber.
Markus's death was that call to me.
A wake up call.

Indubitably, Markus's death has caused a ripple effect, a wave in which I have been caught into myself.
A young man, passionate and Godly driven for the cause he believed it, who ran the race well beyond his age and died doing so.
One cannot help but to stand in respect and in awe of his certainty in the cause he was fighting for and while in the process of doing so, showed tremendous courage, generousity, kindness and friendship to the people around him -- Malay, Indian, Chinese.
It didn't matter.
He had one aim and only one aim in mind -
To make an impact in our nation with a Godly-driven passion.

There I am.
Sitting, listening and seeing the procession at his funeral service.
I couldn't help but to asks myself,
"What am I doing with life? This ONE life.."

I think for those who knew Markus, his death has in one way or another triggered something within us.
And I believe that something is this deep sense of urgency.
He died at the age of 23, so young.
But what separates us from Markus is the fact that he lived every single day with such great urgency that made him do the many great things he has done which has left footprints to be followed and carried on by people who were touched by him.
He truly has made a difference.

As I ponder to myself, "What am I doing with my life",
I urge you to mull over it as well.

What are you doing with your life?

Life must be more than just living a cycle of everyday life, living day bv day without a purpose.
There must be more than this.

Read more...

Rest in peace, my brother

Although I knew you for a short period of time, it was enough to see the sincere being that you are.
Talented, generous, creative, caring and most of all, Godly-driven.
Even as you rest in a place far better off than this world, know that you have indeed made an impact in the lives around you.
Until we meet again in our heavenly home, we will miss you dearly.

Markus Ng
6 May 1985 - 4 February 2009

Read more...