letters to my son

Dearest Joash,

In our search, we found that Joash means God is my strength. The Chinese characters of your name - Yang Leig - actually means gracious strength - or strength from the grace of God. Your brother, Emmanuel [ a reminder of God is with us ] was more than a bundle of energy to handle. So we asked the Lord to grace us with a gentle child imbued with inner strength and steadiness.
We have watch you grown into a fine young man and we are very proud of you. You do not spread yourself thin in multiple relationship and friends. You treasure quality friendships and you are loyal and faithful to the few whom you have cultivate that kind of relationship. You are subdued in your temperament and that allows you the space for clearer observations and deeper reflections.You are slow to speak and you naturally are a good listener even when others are not aware of your attentiveness.

You do not care for small talk or superficial engagement, not withstanding you know just the right place to put the punchline for your humour. You walk very gently with Jesus and you passionately desire to do the best for Him. You do not care to waste time, energy or resources on worthless things..you do not care for the latest gadget among your peers, or trying to be in the cool with the lastest fashion. You are just comfortable with the person you are inside. Yet you sense such a magnetic draw of the Holy Spirit call towards the unique destiny He has for your life. A God-chaser is what you took upon yourself a few years ago and you are continually running with a God-given dream...not just for yourself but your generation.

You are gifted with a calmness, a steadiness, a maturity of heart and mind, a simplicity of appreciation and gratitude in very ordinary offerings. Thank you for enjoying all my experimental and liberal cooking and cuisine.

I am missing you ...dad

letters to my son

Dearest emman,

Either before or after you were born, we [ mum & me ] prayed that you
will be "RUGGED, HUMOROUS AND GENEROUS."

Why rugged?
We were very young in the ministry and we were thinking to our self
that the ministry is tough work and we cannot afford to have a weak
and sickly child. God knows how tough and rugged you were. We were
determined not to teach you fear like threatening you with 'the police
will come and catch you if you do this or that..." . We wanted you to
be brave, unafraid, and daring to go beyond. When you started
exploring the staircase or climbing the iron grills we did not stop you.
We just took your strongand little hands and taught you to grip the railings well.
Every time you took the experiment up and down the staircase we were quietly afraid and
we were proud of you and our self. You never did fall from those
trips.
You have been in Singapore for a year and now you are in your
third year in Australia...by yourself. I always tell others that you
are so much braver than me and I could never do what you did at this
age - yours or even mine.

About a year ago you sent me the book "Wild at Heart" by John
Eldredge. I think that book contains the essence of what you have
grown into and I pray will continue to grow into the "revolutionary
call of the Master Jesus Christ and His LOVE". I pray that you will go
beyond the nice, safe and ordinary model of being Christian.

You were created in God's Image. God breathe His Life into you. God's
life in all of us is sustained by CHARACTER. When we lose the
character of God, we lose the life of God in us. But in order for us
to have His Character we must first die to ourselves, because to
become like Him is what it means to REALLY LIVE. YOU ARE CREATED WITH
THAT PASSION TO LIVE HIS LIFE.

Dear son, I have much to learn of the way of adventure, courage and
"wild trust", but you have shown glimpses of these in your life WITH GOD.
Youhave shown me that when God leads He will be there. When He is there,
there is Life and there is LOVE.

HUMOROUS AND GENEROUS???...coming NEXT

Dad...missing you a lot....i can see your big piano palms and contagious smile.

Cost of NOT following Jesus

A lot of times we hear about the cost of following Jesus.
Have you ever consider the cost of not following Jesus.

I know of many who stay as 'christians' for the only reason that they do not want to end up in hell with the devil where the fire burns and does not consume you, where the worms bites on you and there is still more flesh to devour. It is not verbalised, but you can see it in the way they live. There is just no exitement about this Jesus. HE IS NOT THE JOY OF THEIR LIFE, just a FIRE-INSURANCE. Is that your reason? If that is your reason you are not yet ready to be a Christian: a follower and a lover of Jesus Christ. DON'T SHORT CHANGE YOURSELF.

I have seen people who becomes bitter as they turn away from Jesus because their prayers are not answered and life does not turn out the way they desired. Bitterness, cynism, What a cost! Yes there is a cost of following Jesus..He has some hard sayings: like love your enemies, let him slap you on the other cheek, bless them who speak evil of you...take up your cross and follow me...BUT THE COST OF NOT FOLLOWING HIM IS EVEN WORSE.

If walking away from Jesus does not cost you anything, probably you are not a Christian in the first place. You have not really understand the Gospel and you have not been born again. Probably you thought that Jesus was another GOOD=LUCK CHARM you wear around your neck, to give you a more comfortable, more "luckier", more money life. You probably still very much mesmerized by the things of this world and have not come to the place of King Solomon's "Vanity of all vanity".

Jesus asked Peter " are you also walking away?"
Peter answered " where else can I go, ONLY You have the words of Eternal Life."

letters to my son -2

Dearest son,

You have often heard me share about the need of authenticity in our
relationship with our self, with others and with God. Today, while
reading Erwin Mcmanus's " Stand against the Wind', I learned a deeper
and more important aspect about authenticity, i.e. integrity. This is
what he wrote in chapter six...

' INTEGRITY is when the heart of God is joined with the heart of man."

You can't say two different things at the same time and expect to be
trusted. A person of integrity cannot say one thing and do another.
INTEGRITY IS THE CONTEXT FROM WHICH COURAGE IS FORMED.
integrity.like wholeness, is a byproduct of our spiritual
integration." Integrity" comes from the root word 'integer' which
means to be complete, indivisible - in other words, to be whole.

In our culture we have put an increasing value on authenticity and a
decreasing focus on integrity. We have disdain for the pretentious and
we long for anything that is real. But we MUSTN'T ROMANTICIZE
AUTHENTICITY. When calling for authenticity, we need to take seriously
the brokenness of the human heart. If we are not careful, authentic
can be the new word for arrogance. As long as you're true to yourself
how can anyone fault you, right/ AUTHENTICITY CAN ESTABLISH A
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT JUSTIFIES ABUSE.

if we are committed to being the genuine articles, first we'd better
look closely at what we're made of. AUTHENTICITY WITHOUT INTEGRITY IS
LETHAL.

To be authentic when our hearts are dark is equivalent to opening
Pandora's box. As much as we disdain the external constraints of
society, humanity's best solution without God is to establish laws
that restraint the evil that lurks within us.

To be authentic means literally that we are not false or copied, that
we reflect the original.Our separation from God has made us into
imitations, no longer reflections of the Creator. Although we are born
of a template designed in the image of the Creator God, that template
is broken, and the reproduction flawed. WE RE CLASSIC COUNTERFEITS. We
pass as the real thing. We might even fool ourselves. Yet the evidence
of our inauthenticity can be seen in our departure from the character
of God. The first and most important step in becoming genuinely
authentic is once again to be authenticated by the original designer.
God longs to place within each of us a new heart, that reflects Him in
both action and desire [ Ezekiel 36:26 ]...to be continued.

Well son, I hope that we can continue to journey together in this
quest for integrity.

Daddy with love..missing you a lot.

letters to my son

Joash replied one of recent mails with this...

Dad,

Everytime I think of our family I cry too. Because I know I am loved here. It's amazing.

Dear Jaosh,

It thrills my heart to see how you connect " the crying wih the
knowing that you are loved". It is a precious and beautiful thing.

just got 2 more of Erwin Raphael's books. He is [ at least from his
writing ] a different breed o Jesus's followers. One word that
resonate with what you blogged is the word....REVOLUTION. HE SAYS:-

The Transformation of Character is more Revolution than reformation.
It is forged from the battles we fight rather that the beliefs we
hold. it emerges out of crisis [ not necessary external catalyst, but
can be an internal work of of divine working as we study and interact
with Jesus*** ] , not out of classroom. It doesn't come to you ,you
must run to it...CHARACTER IS A HERO WITHIN YOU WAITING TO BE
AWAKENED....IN PURSUING A LIFE THAT IS NOT ABOUT YOURSELF, YOU FIND
YOURSELF LIVING THE LIFE YOU'VE ALWAYS LONGED FOR. With each challenge
faced, with each victory won, you suddenly come to the realization
that you are a different person than the one who began the journey.

Peter saw the wind, was gripped with fear, and began to sink..but
don't miss the point - he stepped into the storm and walked on water.
[ The only one out of the crowd!*** }

GO STEP OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE INTO THE MIRACLE - even if it is for
a few seconds..minutes.. IMMEDIATELY JESUS STRETCH OUT HIS HANDS AND
CAUGHT HIM. MT 14;31-33.

DAD LOVING YOU ALWAYS..n MAY 2

Confident Love in God

Psalm 27 Of David.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, [a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his [b] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

David challenges us to wait on the Lord;
to be of good courage for God will strengthen our hearts.v14
He declares his confident in God who is his strength. v1-3
He declares he will fear no one.
His confident that his head be lifted up above his enemies. v 6

His confident comes as he cultivates a single hearted desire and seeking - the Lord.v.4
His One Thing desire to dwell in God's Presence, to gaze at His Beauty and to enquire of the Lord.
He hears and response to God's invitation to seek His Face.

He knows of a secret place in God.v.5

The foundation of intimacy with God is confident love.
God likes me. Psa 16:3, 11
My love for Him is authentic even if I don't feel or think so.


Psa 16: 3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
Psa 16: 11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.