There's still hope!

Wow, dear hubby has gone and done two posts in a row! Time to fulfil my 'quota'...

I just got news of the outcome of my scholarship application... it's a no-go. The funny part was that I had been waiting for an email to notify me of this outcome; the results were supposed to have been out early last month. So after a month and a half of waiting on tenterhooks, I succumbed to my impatience/curiosity and gave the scholarships office a call. After a few tries over a couple of days, finally managed to get a human being on the other end of the line. It took her all of one minute to check on my records, and she came back on the line to say sorry, I had been unssuccessful. Sigh.

Well I could have taken the news in two ways... and I did. My heart really sank after I got the news, which was just before meeting Joerg for lunch. Man, I was brooding the rest of the day. Even the Merlo brew couldn't perk me up as it usually does- I barely tasted it! Joerg kept reminding me that it's true that getting the scholarship might have done a good deal to ease our burdens about finances, but that ultimately we could still trust God to be our provider. Thinking about it, I realised that I - in fact both of us - had put our faith in that scholarship, believing that was the answer to all our needs. We had literally banked on it! It had become such that my faith was in that scholarship more than in God's love and ability to provide for us.

So that was yesterday. Last night we prayed over it again, and affirmed our faith in Him as our provider, no matter how He chose to bring it to pass. After all, His ways are higher than ours! Today, it was a new day, and I did feel that peace knowing that God's in control and that He loves and provides for us in ways that we may not even think of, even though it seems like nothing is happening. Interestingly, these couple of weeks I've been reading the book of Genesis for my quiet time, and it's been all about people who were treated unfairly for a long time before they saw any rewards or redemption. Especially in the case of Joseph- the poor kid was sold off by his brothers to some exotic country as a seventeen-year-old, became a servant in one of the governor's homes, fell victim to a desperate housewife who then got him thrown into prison for a long while. And after he helped one of the other prisoners who managed to gain his freedom, Joseph was again 'sabo-ed' because the dude he helped forgot to tell the king good things about him!! If anyone had the right to be upset, bitter, and take revenge, it was Joseph. But what really struck me was his response. When Joseph was about 35 years old and himself a governor of the country, his brothers had to come to him for help. When they found out that the governor was none other than their little brother they had sold off so long ago, they were terrified. But Joseph said to them:

"Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives. There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here--it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt." (Genesis 45:4-8)

He's in control of every situation. That's our hope as we continue in a journey of faith together. It's also our hope that you'll put your hope in Him in all things! :)

Right or wrong?

This morning as I was reading the Word of life, something came into my mind. Yes, its has got to do with right or wrong. Basically, it's about the things we do things that require us to compromise our principle (our belief), puts us to test our moral courage. Let me explain in another way- when we are faced with crucial decision that may undermine us (even in daily decision making), do you choose to do right or wrong?

Just to test you using Kohlberg's Heinz's Dilemma:

In Europe, a woman was near death from cancer. One drug might save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2000, ten times what the drug had cost him to make. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could get together only about half of what it should cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or to let him pay later. But the druggist said no. The husband got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why?

Imagine you are Heinz, what would you do?

a) Yes- I want to save my wife's life.

b) Yes- Besides saving her life, I did not hurt (or kill) anyone to get the drug.

c) Yes, there's no other way.

d) No, whatever it is, stealing is wrong.

Perhaps all of you have the model answer. As it's not exactly happening to you. More daily life examples, finding a mobile phone on a bus, consuming food in prohibited premises, driving above the speed limit etc. It's hard isn't it, especially when no one is looking?

Well, the point is what will the world (the way of the world) tell you to do?

It hard to make the right decision especially with world behaving in a 'me, myself and I' attitude. When we make excuses for our actions, we break down the distinction between right and wrong. If we do not take God's Word as our standard, soon all moral choices will appear fuzzy. Yes, tough remember you are not alone, so whenever you choose to make that right decision, be proud that you did (and He will rejoice with you)!

The best time to……

Admittedly (at this point in time), fishing is perhaps my favorite pastime even though there are seasons where I ‘neglected’ it. Since my secondary school days (don’t ask me how old am I), this is one hobby that I’m still having much thrill at. My mama probably doesn’t know her naughty son actually skipped school and went to his favorite playground to fish, perhaps the kampong boy in me wanted to stay in touch with nature and adventure then. Worse still- there are days where my mates and I tortured the fishes we caught. Even until now, with many years of fishing, I can’t predict the BEST time to fish- perhaps its more of knowing the surroundings, and understanding my customer (the fish) to then hopefully trick them into taking my bait.So when is the BEST time to face some of the challenges in life? I can’t provide an answer either. We do have seasons (good and bad times) in life. What I understand is God gave us this freedom to choose what we want to do, yes absolute freedom to choose (no questions asked, consequences will come though)- yes we are given a choice.
It’s tricky because on one hand the world (the society in general and the many temptations in life) will tell you to take the easy way out, choose the shortest way, use the least amount of energy etc. What would that make of us- you and I? That’s the path that takes us away from the One who created us. One way leads to knowing and understanding more of His plans for us, and the other leads to ….. (you know better!) We know God loves us, hence gave us a choice- freedom to live the way we want, but the snare will be living in opposite of His command for us! Which way would you choose?

I’ll leave you with the Word of the most mighty One:

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (New Living Translation)