When the Obscure becomes the Obvious
“Have you seen a key as big as the door?”, a rhetorical question the Holy Spirit asked me, which later led me to journal a series of personal devotions about finding keys to unlock the hidden truths in the Bible. Doors are generally used to ‘keep good things in and bad things out’. Doors keep you safe by shutting out external harm. But doors can also prevent you from seizing the opportunities that await you at the other end; your […]
Why Jesus Wept
John 11:35 is one of my favourite memory verses which happens to be the shortest verse in the Bible. Just two words, “Jesus wept”. So simple, yet so profound. Contained within these two words is the full expression of the humanity and deity of Jesus; fully God yet fully man. Most commentaries explain this verse as Jesus identifying with the pain and loss of a loved one. Yet there’s this “holy dis-satisfaction” in me that says there’s something more which […]
Be Like The Wind
Once during my devotion time, I asked God an audacious question, “How do I defeat the evil one?” Now, I know that Jesus has won the victory for us on the Cross and furthermore, Rev 12:11 exhorts us that we’ve defeated the “accuser of the brethren” by the Blood of the Lamb and by our testimony, not loving our lives nor renouncing our faith even when faced with death. But I was looking more for some practical steps to apply […]
When Your Work Becomes Worship
I’ve been asked on several occasions this question, “How do you juggle between work and ministry, the secular and spiritual?” Well, I see work as an extension of ministry. They’re not competing for my time, but complementing. The key is that I don’t make a distinction between work and ministry because of the understanding of this one word, “Avodah”. “Avodah” is a Hebrew word used in the Bible whose root has three distinct yet intertwined meanings – worship, work and […]
The Gift of Home
This week, we hosted our pastors from 17 nations for the annual Cornerstone Global Network (CGN) Summit. We had fun and wonderful fellowship in the midst of serious Kingdom business. God did an amazing work in all our hearts – vision renewed and sharpened, the hungry were fed, those struggling were strengthened, the weary were refreshed. Such camaraderie was forged over the four days that we were reluctant to say goodbye. There was never a dull moment. There was a […]
I Hear, I Obey
Our modern western culture, which is influenced by Greek philosophy, segregates the words “listen” and “obey” into a mental and a physical activity respectively. First, we hear, then we evaluate to gain understanding and then make a choice based on our evaluation. But in the Hebrew language, there’s no word for “obey”. The Hebrew word for “listen” and “obey” comes from a singular word, “Shema”, which means to hear AND to follow through what you’ve heard with tangible actions and […]
The Manna Test
I’m always fascinated by the supernatural provisions of God, especially when the Children of Israel were in the wilderness. The feeding of the entire nation of Israel of at least 2 million people, was equivalent to providing food for about half the population size of Singapore, every single day! And what about that super food called “manna” which literally means “what is it?” in Hebrew (Exo 16:15, 31). It looked like coriander seeds and tasted like wafers made with honey; […]
Remember the Egg
Before I draw a parallel between humility and the humble egg, here are some fun facts especially for egg lovers. Unlike most cereals and yogurts, eggs contain only one ingredient – “eggs.” They don’t contain any sugar nor carbohydrates. And at only 15 to 25 cents each, they’re the least expensive source of high quality protein that’s also low in calorie and rich in nutrients. Okay, now for the analogy: “If an egg is broken by an outside force, life […]
Liquid Prayer
The setting of the recent funeral service of Rev. Billy Graham held on 2 March 2018 on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, typified a “Billy Graham Crusade” back in 1949. The crusade made the news headlines and from that time forward, Billy Graham became known as “America’s Pastor” and “Pastor to Presidents”. Diverse crowd of thousands gathered under a massive tent; with a grand choir of voices; and the preaching of the Gospel. The […]
Business Not As Usual
In a business forum several years ago, Singaporean technopreneur and founder of Creative Technologies, Mr. Sim Wong Hoo, was asked a question on why Singapore didn’t produce that many entrepreneurs and technopreneurs like himself. He replied candidly by introducing this phrase called, “No U-turn Syndrome” or “NUTS” in short. He used the “U-turn” road sign as an analogy to contrast how people were wired up in Singapore and in the United States. In Singapore, when drivers wanted to make a […]
