Mid-sem To-Do list

• Get plenty of quiet time in. Hope to get alot of progress with Romans, and chat with God heaps. Oh, and finish off BSF.
• YF prep
• Catch up on the lectures that I missed (I think about 18hrs in total :P)
• Start and (nearly) finish 2 SLAT assignments
• Get some chores done - eg., clean my messy room
• Catch up with friends (if my health permits)
• Play lots of baddy (if my health permits)
• Apply for Summer work - work experience and retail jobs.

After typing that list...I realise it's a fair bit... arghh... see how much of it gets done. :)

Cont (2) (see previous post)

"A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me?" says the LORD Almighty" (Mal 1:6).

The next chunk of verses tell of how the priests sacrificed "crippled or diseased animals" to God. God is displeased as "He is a great king", and demands the best from His people in sacrifice to Him.

How often do I make a promise to God that I will give this to God, but then I either do not give it to God at all, or make a compromise, doing an asian bargaining thing with God: God, how about I give this instead (a smaller amount, or if it's something that I promised that I would do, how about I do it later, and do something else altogether). But surely, if He is a "great king...and [his name] is to be feared" (Mal 1: 14), where is His honour? It saddens me that I often don't treat Him as King, and instead, treat Him as my servant - sigh. Malachi is a good reminder to me that He is God Almighty, so I better treat Him and fear Him as God Almighty.

I'm really interested in this Book, and there are alot of things I don't understand:

1. So what actually happened to Edom?
2. When the "dreadful day" is described in 4:1-6, and "judgment" in 3: 1-5) is it referring to the Lord's first or second coming, or both?

Malachi intrigues me! :)

In FEAR and in AWE (1)

I was reading Malachi today, and this Book reminded me to fear and be in awe of our God Almighty - praise God! Here's a few reasons that triggered this reminder:

"I (ie. God) have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated" (Mal 1: 2,3). My first reaction is: what has Esau done to deserve to be 'hated', and what has Jacob done to be loved? I flip to Genesis, and Jacob seems to be the devious & mischevious one. After Esau's hard work he is famished and asks Jacob for his stew. But Jacob is the one that takes advantage of Esau's starving state and makes a deal with Esau to exchange stew with birthright (Gen 25: 29-34). Later, Jacob lies and misleads in order to take Esau's blessing from his father (Gen 27). It's illogical - shouldn't Jacob be the one "hated", and Esau, the one "loved" by God? Doesn't this passage refute the claim that God is love?

But, perhaps, it's not a matter of what Esau and Jacob has done. Perhaps it's not a matter of man's desire or effort. Rather, it may be about God's sovereign choice and mercy (Ro 9: 10-16ish). That He, because He is God - the God Almighty, gets to choose whom He should have compassion with, and whom He should have mercy on. Because He is the Great God, He gets to choose who are His people, and He gets to choose whose land He will destroy (in this case, Esau's: see Mal 1:3-5ish). Knowing how holy and sovereign God is, made me: wow...

(For better readability I'm going to post (2) in the next post) :)

UF camp

I'm back from UF camp - it was great!

Although I came into the camp with a very bad attitude (being extremely tired, grumpy, self-centred, withdrawn), God reminded me of His amazing attributes: that He is a compassionate, just, loving, forgiving, great, providing and an awesomelypeaceful God. Isn't it just an amazing blessing that by knowing that God is who He is (encompassing all these great and more attributes), we can be confident that He will always act in line with His holy character. For example, by knowing that God is a God who provides, we can live our life each day knowing that He will provide for our daily needs. :D :D

I was also reminded to allow Him to take up His throne of my heart. A struggle that I constantly face is that I allow myself and my desires to take up the throne of my heart, and by so doing, kick God of His rightful place. Those desires at their may not be bad, even good. But the problem is when it becomes an idol, and competes for my passion that should be for God alone.

Great camp, overall!

Xie xie ni

YES. Got those 2 assignments done and handed in on time on Friday - thank you, God! God's been showing me again and again that He really does provide for me, whether in big or small ways. And ALL the time I don't deserve this providence at all. It really does reflect God's graciousness. It did take an all-nighter, though. It was REALLY strange seeing the sun rise up... And on Friday it was really strange...that a day had passed without sleep. :O

Pretty cool experience, but not really keen to experience it again. :P

So after coming back from UF camp, I've been paying back my sleep debt with interest. :D Around 26 hrs over the two nights. :D

1:26am

It's going to be a long night...these 2 assignments are really eye-balling me...

...but when I am weak He is strong. :)

Extension!

Yeah...my SLAT lecturer just decided to give us an extension for our assignment originally due tomorrow! It's now due on Friday! Ohh yeaaaaaaaa, PTL!

Extensions: I like!

A Love for Law - God's law

Was reading Psalm 119 this morning - it's beautiful, I love it! It took me a number of attempts to get through it, though. I felt so tired and sleepy (from assignment-ing in the very early morning and night before), so after reading a section I napped for ~20mins, which would energise me through to the next chunk. I think I had about 4 * ~20 min naps in total. Ahh, naps are tops. It was good that it gave me time to allow the Psalmist's words to sink in during the nap. (If I drive to uni, I'm going to bring a small pillow from now on. Coz atm I rest my head on my arms, blocking the blood flow - so I'm forced to wake up after 20 mins as a result of the pins and needles.) ANYWAYS, that's not the main point. :P

What stood out out to me was the Psalmist's deep love for God and His law. When you read it, it is clear of His immense desire and thirst for God. He lovesGod's law "more than gold, pure gold" and "rejoice[s] in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches".

I wondered: why does he, and how can he love God and love obeying God's law THAT much? Is that just a desire as a result of randomness - that people are different, and this dude instead of loving to break the rules he chooses to love God's law at his own will? Or does God play a part in affecting that desire? And if He does play a part, to what extent? (Umm, I don't really know...)

Although the Psalmist has experienced the shame (v.6) as a result of his disobedience to God at times, he has also experienced the blessedness of those who follow God (v. 1). God's Word and His promises strengthens him in times of sorrow (v. 28) and preserves his life (v. 50). He considers God's law as 'righteous', 'good', 'eternal', 'trustworthy', 'a lamp to [his] feet' and 'right' etc etc, the list goes on.

So, it seems that he has really experienced God's awesome & wonderful goodness as he seeks to trust and obey God's law. And, perhaps, by experiencing the goodness of God, it spurs him on to continue to trust and obey God.

As I reflect, I had wondered immensely in the past how I could love God and treasure obedience to His commands to such an extent (as to even love it more than $$ etc etc). But, as God opens my eyes more and more to see His amazing goodness in my life, it continues to drive me to continue to love and seek God more and more.

I remember meeting some oldies who were clearly in love with Jesus - shown by their countenance, actions and words. They were one of the happiest chaps I've ever met. Their countenance just reflected an aura of joy. They were pretty old, a decade or two off being a centenarian. It's awesome to see that their love for our Lord and Saviour has not gone cold, but in fact, is still growing vertically at that age. I hope that, by God's grace, that my love for my God will continue to deeepen and deepend and deepen...and deepen. :)

The Provider

Yesterday I had an assignment due @ 4pm. And it turned quite eventful. :P This is what happened:

In the early morning, I was reminded how God provides for us. A friend sent me an email of God provided for her test. Also remembered how another friend had an exam that day, and I remembered thinking: okay, I look forward hearing how God provides for her. This made me wonder how God would provide for me, especially since my assignment was only half-finished.

2:50pm: I still had not finished my assignment yet. I sprinted to my bus stop and got there @ exactly 2:55pm (my bus was due to come @ 2:55pm).

Waited for 10mins-ish and bus still did not come. Thought: "uh oh", and really wondered how God would provide for me this time. Started singing the first song that came to mind, being: "Seek ye First the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you as well". I thought, there really is no point waiting...I should walk to another bus stop. And then...noticed a car pulled over, and I realised, hey this is my friend. He drove me to Sunnybank, where it's easier to catch the bus to uni.

3:20pm: I continued working on my assignment on my laptop @ the bus station, while I was waiting for the bus. I noticed that there was a passenger getting onto a bus in the corner of my eye. I raced towards the bus - but it started to leave. I thought I'll give it a wave, maybe God will help me out here...but nope, driver ignores me.

3:30pm: Transferred from sunnybank to Griffith Busway. Was waiting for a bus direct to uni now. I thought: now there really is no way how I'm going to get to uni on time. I still need to transfer my document onto a uni comp, and then print it out, and then hand it in. I just wonder why God provide for me bits and pieces (like provide transport for me to go to a more central bus station), but not fully provide - gonna be late! What's He doing?! But then I was also reminded that God is sovereign, and after all, He is God. There's nothing I've done, or ever done that warrants His love and grace. He does whatever to get His name glorified.

3:50pm: Got to uni. I had a thought: God's really going to provide this time. I know it. Jogged to the library. When I got to the library I thought: uh oh, it's pretty hard to find a comp right now at this time. Oh how right I was. Pretty packed library. I thought: Okay, God, by Your grace, by your grace, please. You've provided for me so much, you'll continue providing for me, right. A few more steps, and a guy just in front of me left...Go God!

3:57pm: I printed & stapled the pages of my asssignment. Noticing that my laptop was quite heavy, I approached the librarian and said: "I have an assignment due in a few minutes, would you mind looking after my laptop while I sprint to hand it in on time?" He was okay with that.

3:58pm: SPRINTED & stuffed my assignment down the pidgeon hole @ 3:59pm according to my watch. Acting like a fool, I asked the staff what the time was according to their clock. She said: "1 minute....to 4". :D :D :D

So, God is good. :D He is loving, gracious, compassionate, and amazingly sovereign. Although it was my fault for leaving it so late, He still graciously provides for us. Even tho assignments are so, so incredibly tiny in His eyes. What hit me the most was the knowing that I have done NOTHING to deserve all the amazing things He's done for me. And what Has he done? Yes, provides for helping me get my assignment in on time. But that's not it. MOST importantly, He has provided Jesus.

Friends, He provided Jesus, the only worthy One to take God's wrath. He provided Jesus to take the punishment that we rightly deserved as a result of our disobedience to God. He provided Jesus, so that we might know God, and spend eternity with our loving and almighty Saviour. :D Woohoo!

ps. Sorry for this incredibly wordy post. I hope it makes sense. :)