genesis

Genesis. What a book! I finished reading it for the second time (in full) on the weekend. We had previously gone through all 50 chapters (DHW-style) in YPG Bible Study - over the span of 6 years (or something like that), but this time it was just a read-through rather than a study - and needless to say, it was a lot faster.

Stuff in Genesis is pretty funny. Not only do we have the naming system of the Leah and Rachel's children (e.g. Rachel's handmaid gives birth and then Rachel names the child something that loosely translates into 'take that Leah! I got's me a son!'), but there is also the gold mine of Joseph. Joseph - bless his heart - was just such a character! I love the way he says to his brothers who already despised him for being their dad's favourite son 'Hey guess what?!? I had a dream! And we were all sheaves of wheat, and all of youse guys, bowed down to me! Crazy huh? Oh! And then, I had another dream where we were all stars this time round, and again, youse guys all bowed down to me again!! But then - get this - after that, even the moon and the sun bowed down to me too! How weird is that??!'. Classic - what was he thinking? And then later when Joseph is in Egypt, Potiphar's wife tries to seduce him and grabs his coat. So what does Joe do? He leaves his coat in her hand and runs away! hehe..

What's also great about Genesis is that it is just like reading a novel. There's so much action! So much drama! I mean, how cool would it have been to witness the time when Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers when he was in Egypt and they came looking for food - or when Joseph was reunited with Jacob (who thought Joseph was dead for several years!). There is just so much cool stuff that happens in Genesis - but in the end, the message that we really get from Genesis is just like how Ken Casillas summarises it in EBI 'God is at work to restore His fallen creatures'.

So many times we see in Genesis how God has given a commandment or instruction, how pretty much all the 'stars' of Genesis disobeyed God, and then surely enough, how God fixed up the problem - somehow. In fact, as Ken Casillas points out in EBI, the majority of sins in Genesis are committed within God's chosen lineage of Christ! That's amazing - that's grace.

These people in Genesis did some crazy stuff that we would all (if we were being honest with ourselves) consider to be unforgiveable! Murder, adultery, rape, deception, incest, theft, malice, dishonesty (and this doesn't even include Sodom and Gomorrah) - you name it, someone did it in Genesis. When I take the time to think about God's grace, I am always left wondering how God can respond in such awesome love (by sending Christ to die at Calvary) when we have so blatantly disobeyed, rejected, disappointed, angered, and taken Him for granted.

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

working on the wife thing

This week's EBI was on the role of a wife in marriage. Having learnt about the role of women / wives / girls in the church and home, I had a fair idea about what the lesson would be on. I presumed that Jim Berg would get up there and say how women should be like the typical Pastor's Wife that you see all the time - who is quiet, submissive, proper, neat and tidy. For those who know me, you will know that I'm not the quiet submissive type. Far from it in fact. So whenever someone preaches about women being quiet in the church and being submissive, I always wonder about how exactly God is going to change me - a loud, boisterous and outspoken girl who can't stand it when the room is silent for too long - to a quiet, submissive and proper woman who only talks when spoken to. It's kinda crazy thinking about it. I guess I'm too rough around the edges to fit into that mould, for now anyways. I blame the fact that I have two brothers :D

But the message during EBI I found to be quite an encouragement. Although at the end of it I felt like I had a super-long journey ahead of me with a massive pile of things to change in my life, I also felt like it was something that I could achieve. Maybe it was the fact that the message was given by Jim Berg's wife, Patty, who was just so likable and who was also quite practical in her suggestions. Maybe it was because Patty Berg seemed to me like a realistic role model of a godly wife somewhat, because she wasn't what I expected her to be - yet she was what I have always thought a godly wife should be like (if that makes any sense). Or maybe it was because I have changed to be a little bit more receptive. I dunno, all I know is that the lessons I took away from the message will be ones that will really help me in the long-term (if God leads me to become a wife) to get rid of all the bad stuff and replace it with all the stuff that will help me to be the helpful support that my future husband will need and want.

To help me remember what I have learnt (and also to share with all who want to read and learn, though I do highly recommend that all the sisters who missed this lesson should go along to the Sunday Night re-run of Pre-Marital Counselling for this one as a minimum!) I am going to blog the notes...

THE ROLE OF THE WIFE

It's good to remember firstly, that relational problems can be solved by taking another look at the responsibilities as defined by the roles. Also, it's not wise to try steer your car by avoiding the ditches in the road - don't aim to not be something, aim for where you want to go and in the process, the ditches will be avoided.

The Report Card of the Wife... this is what wives will be judged by God on according to the Word.

A. Roles she was created to perform
1. Helping her husband (Gen 2:18)
2. Being a companion to her husband (Gen 2:18)

B. Roles she is commanded to perform
1. Developing unity with her husband (Gen 2:24)
2. Reverencing her husband (Eph 5:33)
3. Being in subjection to her husband (Gen 3:16, Eph 5:22, 1 Pet 3:1-6)

C. Qualities she is commended for exhibiting
1. Devoted to God (Luke 10:39, 42, Prov 31:30)
2. Virtuous (Prov 12:4, 31:10)
3. Meek (1 Pet 3:4)
4. Quiet(1 Pet 3:4)
5. Prudent (Prov 19:14, 31:26)
6. Modest (1 Tim 2:9)
7. Diligent (Prov 31:13-22, 27)
8. Generous (Prov 31:20, Luke 21:2-4, John 12:3)
9. Gracious (Prov 11:16, 31:26)

ROLES SHE WAS CREATED TO PERFORM

1. Helping her husband
Implies that...
---> You know what he is trying to do (ask him what he needs help with)
---> You are doing it his way
---> You are making his job easier than it would have been without your help. Wife should be like a helpful store clerk.
---> You have a willing spirit - no sighs, groans or complaints
---> You practice self-denial and self-sacrifice

2. Being a companion to her husband
---> Be a friend - develop the type of character that the husband wants to be around
---> Be an encourager - inspire husband to continue and give him your support(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
---> Be a good counsellor - wives can give a different perspective that the husband may not always see. The virtuous woman opens her mouth with wisdom.

ROLES SHE IS COMMANDED TO PERFORM

1. Developing UNITY with her husband
---> Work out differences in private
---> Present likemindedness in public - especially before your children. Have a united front.

2. Reverencing her husband
---> Choose to overlook his faults. Should note that this is not condoning his sin. (Proverbs 19:11, Matt 23:24)
---> Control what you say to yourself - refuse to dwell on shortcomings, rather accentuate his good qualities
---> Control what you say to him about his flaws

Things to note about talking to your husband about his flaws...

There are 2 Biblical reasons for talking to your husband about a flaw - 2 Corinthians 6:3, You should only raise issues / flaws with him if it affects his ministry (to you, others or your children). Galatians 6:1, restoration, not blowing him away - being gentle and trying to fix the wrong.

Some suggestions for wives when talking to husbands. You must decide in advance that you can do the following before trying to talk to husband about the issue / flaw...

1. You are not bringing it up just because it bugs you or because you are angry with him - but because of one of the two biblical reasons - it affects his ministry or that you want to help him.
2. It is his decision whether he changes or not. You are lending him your perspective - he may not see the flaw.
3. If he never changes, you will be able to live with that issue / flaw for the rest of your life and BE CONTENT with it.
4. Say it once, and only once. Leave it to the Holy Spirit to repeat it to him in his heart. Don't nag (Prov 21:9).
5. You will never say it again even by non-verbal means e.g. rolling your eyes, sighing, silent treatment etc.

---> Hide his flaws from others, rather than announcing them (Prov 17:9, 11:13). Don't make fun of him in public.
---> Be his cheerleader - to him, to others (behind his back), and especially to your children. It will make them want to go on!

3. Being in subjection to her husband
---> We submit to our husband only as well as we submit to God. So important because we are an example of submission for our children. Submission is being willing to go one way or the other (Eph 5:22).
---> Submission begins at the point of disagreement. Wife can give her perspective, but giving of perspectives should never escalate to an argument because if the disagreement is still there after all perspectives are given, the wife should submit and change her view to that of the husband.
---> Trust God and obey your husband - even when he is wrong (1 Peter 3:1-6). Trust that God will intervene if the husband really messes up. Submission is ducking so that God can hit your husband (I love that quote!)

Conclusion

Proverbs 31:12
'She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life'

saturday

Yesterday was good. Though I wasn't able to sleep well on Friday night, I woke early to follow Caleb to gatecrash Youth180's Saturday Sunrise Session - it was either that or spend my morning alone at home (Adrian was going to a committee meeting that morning as well). SSS is something that Youth180 started doing shortly after I had left for Regeneration - and I had always wanted to go along. They spend some time doing devotions, prayer, discussion and then do a bit of exercise before having a BBQ breakfast. I'm not usually the type of person who likes to get up at the break of dawn, but it's nice to wake up ridiculously early every now and then to spend time with God.

SSS was good. The devotion was on contentment (Regen covered this topic a few weeks ago while doing Quieting a Noisy Soul), but as well as the devotion, I was able to spend some time catching up on Genesis as well, before we met in groups for discussion. Some of us decided to go on a little jog around Heathcoate and as I joined in, I realised I needed to invest more time in my cardio. :(

We then had breakfast, had some fellowship while eating, packed up and headed off. I managed to convince Caleb to come with me to the Baptist Theological College annual secondhand book sale to pick up some bargains. He was hesitant at first but after we walked in, and he saw books by Andrew Murray going for like $1 and $2 each, and Bible study booklets starting at 20c each - he got right into it. For the next 2 hours, we searched through the multitude of books and in the end, we filled up a box.

The best buy was probably the old KJV Family Bible that I found. It was pretty impressive and antique-ish-ly old. Isn't it pretty?

We also got some Bible Study guides on different books of the Bible...



This is what we ended up with...

After we had cleaned up at the book sale, we went home, then back out to Garbo, and then came home again. I had a quick nap and then Truc came over for coffee and scrabble.

Now this scrabble battle had been talked about for a long time (I think pretty much for about 2 years now - since I have known Truc) and the two of us had been trash-talking one another about it, pretty much for about the same length of time. We had played each other before (once, but with Sixian as well), which I won, but apparently that didn't count. And of course recently, we had also played each other (but in teams) - again I won, but much controversy surrounded the game - so again it didn't count.

So yesterday, the real test began. One on one. No excuses, no dodgy techy words, no Sixian to mislead. Hours passed, tiles were placed with thought and strategy, the rhythmic rattling of tiles in the bag occasionally broke the silence, points were scored, words were disputed, coffee was consumed. Hours later, after two and a half games were played, the battle was over.

Both players congratulated each other on a job well-done - but only one player could go home (or stay home) with bragging rights. That player, is too humble to say who she was, so the post will end here :D

who has the passion?

Tonight's EBI made me wonder - how many of us at church really have a passion for God? How many of us are self-starters for God? It has been something that has been on my mind for a while now. When I look around, I often feel sad that I don't see Christians on-fire (not literally, I'm not a sicko - you know what I mean). I understand that we all have commitments in life - work, uni, school, church stuff, family, friends, but I dunno, should these things really stand in the way of us really having that fire for God that spreads to all around us?

I'm the type of person that can often be quite excitable when it comes to a lot of church things but sometimes I feel that when I am around certain people, instead of my fire spreading or becoming stronger, it decreases. How awesome would it be if every time we talked to one another in church, our fires would become stronger as a result and burn brighter than ever before!

I think that's why when Jim Berg talks about marrying someone with a passion for God in premarital counseling, it's so important. I can't imagine what it would be like to be married to someone who is lukewarm or (even worse) a fire-quencher. I think it would be far, far worse than staying single! Give me the single-life with cats any day! But at the same time, it would be awesome to be married to someone who shares the same passion for God as you do - you have the rest of your life to encourage one another and keep firing each other up and spreading the fire to your kids as well! :D

Just a short post today folks - I'll end here with a pic from Reverend Fun hehe...

christian character

Notes from EBI Pre-marital Counseling. I thought last week and this week were particularly worth sharing...

There are 3 essential habits of Christian Character - we must have all three to develop Christian Character. Character is important within the marriage context because the quality of a marriage is dependent upon the quality of character of the participants.

THE HABIT OF RESPONSIBLE DECISION

I am authorised to choose
- we always have a choice - God gave each of us free will
- there is always a choice I can make to please God
- Choices reflect what I am
----> law of the tea bag: hot water (trials) merely draw out of the teabag what is already in it
- Choices always determine what I will become
----> whatever we sow, we will reap

I am accountable for my choices
- if good, I can rejoice
- if evil, I can repent
- credit card illustration

If we have a Company Credit Card we are authorised to make transactions - as long as they will be beneficial for the company. We can make the wrong decisions, but we will be accountable for what we purchase. In the same way, we have a free will given to us by God and are authorised to make choices - as long as they will be for God's glory. We can use our free will to sin, but we are accountable for whatever we do.

- talking to someone who has done wrong about their sin is not going to get them in trouble - they are already in trouble! Accountability gets people out of trouble and involves:
----> reconciliation
----> restitution
----> restriction
----> radical amputation

The result of the habit of Reasonable Decision: HOPE!

THE HABIT OF PASSIONATE DEVOTION

"You are not ready to live until you know what you want written on your tombstone"

Character cannot be developed without a passionate sense of purpose and mission

Gratitude-driven Life
- love for God is motivated by an understanding of His love for me
- we cannot do anything that will increase or decrease God's love for us
- God knew what He was buying when He bought us (all our sins that we would ever commit) and He still chose to buy us!
- our works and holiness will not compel God to love us any more than he already does.
- example of artwork of a child

When a child brings home a piece of art, the art itself (though completed with great effort from the child) will not make the father love the child more. Our efforts at holiness, likewise, will not make God love us more. His love is already perfect and unchanging.

- love for God is maintained by:
----> continual confession of sins
----> continual meditation on His love for us (we don't need to be theologians to meditate on God's love, we just need to know what we are forgiven (and what we have been forgiven from)

God-centred Life
- affects the way I view sin (Romans 2:1-2), service (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) and security (1 John 4:18)

The result of the Habit of Passionate Devotion: PURPOSE!

All we can do when we realise what God did for us is to serve Him forever!

THE HABIT OF SUSTAINED DISCIPLINE

Subordinated Effort
- be SPIRIT controlled (instant obedience to initial promptings of God's spirit) as opposed to self-controlled
- subordinated to His person and His principles

Sustained Effort
- requires meditation on the purpose
- and repetition of the principles
----> remind each other what God says

The result of the Habit of Sustained Discipline: ENDURANCE!

It is important to make sure your spouse will be someone who does not need to be jump-started to develop their character. They need to self-starters, and not dependent on encouragement.

christian pick-up lines

There's a group on facebook that is for the appreciation of Christian Pick-up lines. Some I thought were worth sharing here for a bit of a laugh. See below.

"i didnt believe in predestination until tonight."

"i believe one of my ribs belongs to you."

"hey.. i would work 7 years for your sister.. but i would work 7 more years for you."

"is that a thinline, duo-tone, compact, ESV Travel Bible in your pocket"

"your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead"

"you put the 'cute' back in persecution..."

"if you say no, im going to tear my clothes, get in my sackcloth and rub dust into my head.."

"feel free to meet me at the threshing floor."

"if i had to choose between a romantic date with you or a night with the fellas... i would sit at home and read my bible."

"you're totally depraved but i'd still like to go out with you..."

"im interested in full time ministry, and not only that... i also play the guitar."

"look, you're nearly 22. most christians are 3 years into marriage by now... just settle for me."

"my general biblical knowledge is quite vast, probably because i finished bible trivia as a child."

"have you died before? because that looks like a resurrection body to me.."

"i would have asked you out to dinner, but i just put all my money in the offetory basket."

"Hi, I'm Calvin. You were meant to choose me."

"all im looking for is a Godly woman. i don't care that you're not attractive." (that will go down well for sure)

"if you were staying for the tribulation, i would consider staying too.. but then i would probably leave." (hehe)

"Unlike the Israelites, who forgot the Lord, I will remember your name most of the time."

"can I buy you a non-alcoholic beverage?"

"my favourite species of vegetation is the church plant."

"i have many sponsor children. one in each developing nation."

"who's your favorite apostle?"

"what's an xbox?" (this one's a sure-thing)

"you make the Queen of Sheba look like a hobo."

"im kind of a big deal at Koorong"

"the word says 'Give drink to those who are thirsty, and feed the hungry'; how about dinner?"

"i have familiarised myself with all 5 love languages, in fact, i invented 4 of them."

"i sacrifice my sunday mornings to look after the creche group. its tough... but i love children."

"i can be your Boaz."

[check the person's shirt tag] "just as i thought... made in heaven."

"bible-gateway happens to be my homepage."

"for you i would slay two Goliaths"

"i would go through more than Job for you"

"you are so unblemished that i would sacrifice you." (how romantic o_O)

"what, this here? oh.. thats my study bible - it's a little bigger but i can handle the extra spiritual and physical weight." (gold!)

yumming a bit of cha

Just a quick post for my new favourite place to eat, The Regal on Roe! Though they bought over the property from Tra Vinh (the best Viet place to eat in Perth), I still reckon they're an alright bunch (there is always the Tra Vinh on Brisbane St anyway). I went there with my family for the first time on Good Friday (because Chinese Restaurants are the only places open on days like Christmas, Easter and Good Friday) and also because my Uncle Kin was in town and we wanted to go out for dinner with him. The food there was very good (totally owns the place next door - NCC... for my thoughts on NCC click here). Here are a few pics...

After a very nice dinner that night, we were told that Yum Cha would start being served from 31 May onwards! Those little bundles of fat and grease could now be enjoyed during the week! I couldn't wait to try it. This was very exciting news for my yum-cha-loving family. But would it pass the test that many have failed in the past?

About the same time that I heard about the Regal starting Yum Cha, I was asked to choose a place for a work lunch for today. Remembering that Regal would start Yum Cha this week, I made the call to book a table for 7. Thought it was a good idea to get work to pay for my little road-test of the new Yum Cha place in town :D.

The verdict? Very very nice. Everyone was stoked with the food, and they all loved the service and ambience too. NCC, prepare to be owned well and truly (I was told by AJ today that NCC have started renovations - I guess they looked through the window next door and started panicking). Just to add about the service at Regal - it was SOOOO good that the aunties pushing the trolleys and carrying the food from table to table were unlike other yum cha aunties, and didn't try to make you take stuff from them that you didn't want!! They just showed you their goods, and if you said no thanks, they actually moved on without a fight! It was soooooo refreshing!! I would go back again just for that experience!

The dim sum? Just as good as I have had in other places, maybe even better. The only thing that didn't rock my socks was the siew mai - it was a bit on the salty side for me, but still very edible (though really, who goes to Yum Cha for the siew mai anyway - it's the just the filler... bring on the dan tarts man!). The bolo bau was really really good, as was the har-gow and they totally put the fun back into the chi-chung-fun :D

So next time you get the urge to go to NCC for yum cha, slap yourself for being dumb, and go next door instead!!

stairs

As I was riding the elevator today I heard a fire alarm on one of the floors (this was about level 30ish judging by the sound volume as the elevator passed). The guy in the elevator turned to me and said - hey, we just missed it! *big grin*. I returned the sentiments and continued on my merry way. About an hour later as I was heading to the kitchen for a coffee hit, the unthinkable happened. Way at the top of QV1 on Level 37, the fire alarm sounded for a fire drill.

We gathered at the exit and prepared for the 37-storey descent. To be honest, I was actually quite excited - the thought of going down such a large flight of stairs was something I had never done before. But as I started going down the stairs, my excitement quickly started to go down too. Step, step, step, step, step, step, turn, step, step, step. I started to get dizzier toward Level 20ish down and I felt like I was starting to lose control of my legs shortly afterwards. But we made it to the bottom.

It was so deadly man. The descent took 9 long minutes (not bad eh?) and we calculated that there were nearly 800 steps (20 steps for each floor and about double that for the last few floors for some reason).

I didn't notice the effect until I tried walking around about 10 minutes after the descent. Knees felt weak, thighs were tired, shins were caning. But on the bright side, it was a pretty good workout and it's gotta be good for the calves right?