God's bigger. Much bigger. Whatever we think, God overwhelms our thoughts. He ambushes our worries. He crashes into our conscious, wraps his arms around our heart and whispers his assurance

"It's okay! I'm bigger, much bigger. You are safe with me"

Today's a long day with many of Mei Si's friends in our house. Celebrating her 11th birthday it was movie "Brave" and then Kitchen adventures making their own pizza lunch and cookies to bring home.

It's fun for them all the way but a bit tiring for the adults picking up cakes, kids and sending them home.

At the end of the day, Doxology on guitar, just praising God is just what the soul needs.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow".

I was on my way to the market when I asked God in the car yesterday what the last 5 signs relating to cars and accidents he has shown me meant? Is it for me to STOP or to SLOW down? God showed me the last sign just the night before where he woke me to go watch the video of the Ferrari and Taxi accident on Youtube which I never bothered to see when it was sent to me.

At the market, I saw an egg and on its shell, its written SLOW. I go "what the ..." and showed it to Mag. I took it and turned it around and it's actually a label MO19.
God answered and said "SLOW".

I believe God wants me (or us) to slow down for the conference this weekend. He wants room to do something.  God is amazing and speaks so clearly to His people. Many people have asked me to slow down but a word from Heaven makes the most lasting difference.

In case you are interested, the 5 signs were..

1: Last week, Mag complaining I've been maintaining too small a gap to the car in front. I normally don't do that.
2: That tuesday, I drove passed a red light on a pedestrian crossing only to be alerted by an angry pedestrian who hit the back of my car with a shopping bag. I apologized and he calmed down. 
3: Thursday, my brother in law shared of his friend who's involve in a car accident where life was lost and the hanging sense of guilt of being responsible.
4: Sunday night on the way to Johor, I knocked a car in front but she was strangely avoiding further investigation by pulling over even though I pursued taking responsibility. 
5: Wednesday night, being woken up to watch an accident where slowing down can save my life.

2 weeks ago I just came back from Guangzhou, I was there to go back to my ancestral hometown in Taishan. There were 39 of us and there I was standing inside in the house where my great great grandfather used to live. It was a great moment. And there I was told by my Ku Mah, if your great great grandfather were just a bit richer, he would have gone to San Francisco and not come to this part of Asia. He would have married a Caucasion and if that had happen he would not have met my great great grandmother in Malaysia and none of us would have existed.

I’m very thankful to my father for falling in love with my mum. If he did not I would have existed.
I’m very thankful to my grandfather for marrying his bride. If he did not I would not have existed
I’m thankful for great grand father to for choosing my great grand mother. If not, I would not have existed too.
I’m thankful for everyone down or up the line who came before me who made decisions that affected me.

Beyond everything and above all, my greatest gratitude is towards God whom I believe orchestrated everything. He is the author and perfecter of our faith and is behind this long due miracle that brought me and you into being what could not have been.

God says that we are carefully and wonderfully made and even in our mother’s womb he has known us. I believe He created you and me and painstakingly put us here for a time such as this. We should not despise it.

His power has put you standing here that you may not just know about Him but to know Him. Today he stand in the door of your heart and he knocks. Will you open it up for Him to work and continue that miracle in your life?

Click here for the TV coverage of the event.

The past 2 weeks have been about pondering, discussing and digesting issues about translations, preaching, doctrines and practices and that inevitably leads to people who are particular about precision, chronology and other debatable issues. While all these are insightful opportunities to grow and develop as a minister, I will not forget to return to a simple belief of a God who loves me enough to die for me.

Reading parts of "Orthodoxy" by G.K.Chesterton again this morning and remember Rich's song based on the Apostle's Creed. He sings a truth that affects us all as believers "I believe what I believe that makes me what I am. I did not make it but He is making me". Yes, we could never make it in our faith but it is He who is the one making us. So to have religion without the indwelling Christ, the Word without the Spirit and hearing of His voice without the Spirit's conviction to do what it says.. is futile and not worth pursuing.

So often I'm challenged to the authenticity of my personal belief because it inevitably affects how my life turns out. That in turn affects my family and those people closed to me. Haven't all of us taken some stuff away and added some into our belief that resulted in a more complicated and less than great Christ empowered life?

I'm a modern man and having a life purpose of passing down our legacy to the next generation, I will stand for progress and doing ministry that bring relevance to people of today's culture. However the legacy I wish to pass down isn't a legacy of progress, tradition or complication, but just of simple truth and that lived out. I will not leave things that leads to structures and rules, the declination of honor and other stuff that is unprofitable for everyone.

Only a small percentage of people will be theologians and people with deep understanding to engage in religious debates. The rest are just people needing God's grace and a loving hand of guidance. People may call me a simpleton but its the simple theological doctrine as expressed in the Apostle Creed that got me to love & follow God when I accepted Him in a Chinese Christian Church 20+ years ago in Perth. And it'll be based on these simple theological belief that I will live my life and lead the ministry.

The Apostle's Creed expresses the essence of my belief. It's pure vanilla but powerful enough to transform my life and those whom I have the privilege to serve with. I'll probably go for toppings, later and sparingly.

Apostle's Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried:
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
The Holy Catholic Church;
The Communion of Saints;
The Forgiveness of sins;
The Resurrection of the body,
And the Life everlasting.
Amen.

I always remember 2 ragammufin fact...

To always keep myself humble. And I will always recall Rich's illustration that God used donkeys in the past and has been using donkeys every since and we ought not to think too highly of ourselves when God decides to use us.

Another fact is that people has always been using the bible through the centuries to proof that he/she is right and others wrong when actually God is really using the bible to proof that He is right and everyone of us is merely guessing. I want to know what to avoid and what to devote my life to.

Forgotten how ministering this song by Rich is. Just listened to it again and am reminded that once a ragamuffin, always a ragamuffin. Maybe a good time to dig out my copy of Rich Mullin's biography and Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel.

Often God brings you to encounter stuff that resonate with who you are and inspires you towards what you are to do on earth and it will always provide an enduring source of inspiration in the course of life. God has great sense of wonder and pours it out into this side of life for us.

After months (or is it years) of toying with ideas how to get Ragsstudio.com up again after it crashed out a few months/years ago, I have finally found a new purpose for Ragsstudio.com. It'll just be space for Work, Pray & Play, inspired by the Franciscan order's motto of work and pray with the added 'play',

I just want to be faithful with what's been given to me so that I can bless the world. Who doesn't actually? Just that I want to act on it. The vision of me doing something with my 'creative hands' hasn't come to pass but I figure I should do something. Anything. This is what will make me happy. It's crazy, but its fun and I believe in just doing things for fun because more work gets done with fun than without it. And we do take ourselves too seriously sometimes, we worry about too many things... so just want to cut the crap of serious things.

So the new purpose of Ragsstudio.com is pretty counter cultural.  It's an anti-website, its anti-getting. I just want to give and do something that really help people. I hope it can. Maybe it can't. It doesn't matter. As long as its work and I can express myself and its fun.

Let's keep doing it. I commit it to God to allow me to have fun and help. Visit Ragsstudio.com