No Longer Looking for More

Hello All,

Are you looking for something? Are you searching for someone?

Are you hoping for something? Are you yearning for someone?

In this life, we are constantly yearning for something or someone that will satisfy the longings of our hearts. ‘There must be more to life than this,’ we often whisper to ourselves.

No Longer Looking for More

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

No longer looking for more

I've found Someone to adore

No longer unsatisfied

For me, Christ was crucified

No longer looking for more

My Lord Jesus, I adore

No longer looking for gold

In Christ are treasures untold

No longer looking for more

Jesus, my King, I adore

No longer looking for fame

For God has called me by name

No longer looking for more

Christ, my Saviour, I adore

No longer looking for praise

I boast in Him who was raised

No longer looking for more

Christ is the One I adore

No longer striving for love

Divine love comes from above

Points for Reflection:

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

(John 4:13-14 ESV)

·         In Christian gatherings, we often sing songs that speak of the sufficiency of Christ. ‘Christ is Enough for Me’ is one of those songs.

·         If we are honest with ourselves, we are often looking for satisfaction somewhere else apart from Christ. Those places may not be bad and may, in fact, be good gifts from God. But attempting to derive ultimate fulfilment from them leads to disappointments and disillusionment.

·         When God withholds something or someone that we are yearning so badly for, it is very natural to ask Him, ‘Why?’ God’s ways are higher than ours and we may never know the reasons He is withholding those things from us. However, one of the possible reasons is that He wants us to find ultimate fulfilment in Him and not in those things. He wants us to delight in Him.

·         Are you delighting in Christ? Drink from the well of His living Word. Grow in your knowledge of Him. And not just knowledge, but abound in your love for Him.

Holding on to Regrets?

Hello All,

Have you ever regretted over something you’ve done or failed to do?

If life was perfect and the world we live in unbroken, there would be no place for regrets. Regrets are indicators that something is not right in our lives and in this world.

Regrets are effects of a fallen world.

Holding on to Regrets?

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

'Don't cry over spilt milk!' goes the wise adage

A profound, pithy statement of the sage

What can you do when the milk has been spilt?

Why wallow in regret and pointless guilt?

It is always easier said than done

We have regrets; others more than some

If time could just give us another chance

To undo a wrong step made in a dance

Hurtful words, we wish were left unspoken

Tender hearts, we wish we had not broken

Loving words, we should not have left unsaid

Burning bridges, we've painstakingly made

Betraying others and being betrayed

Leaving someone when we should have stayed

Forsaking others for selfish gains

Wrongs we keep doing again and again

We cannot undo the wrongs we have done

Not by regretting every single one

Not by atoning for them with good deeds

Those remedies are futile, indeed!

The greatest regret of humanity

Is eating from that forbidden tree

Rejecting God’s reign and authority

Messing up the world and ruling poorly

Do not give way to despair; don’t lose hope

For help dangles not from a flimsy rope

But rescue finds its firm foundation

In Jesus, the Rock of our salvation

Cursed is He who is hung on a tree

Christ was accursed for you and me

He reversed humanity’s greatest regret

On the Tree, God’s wrath and mercy met

'Don't cry over spilt milk!' goes the wise adage

A profound, pithy statement of the sage

Cry not over the milk that has been spilt

For Jesus has taken away your guilt

Points for Reflection:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”

(Galatians 3:13 ESV)

·         Are you wallowing in regret? Are there hurtful words, you wish were left unspoken? Are there tender hearts, you wish you had not broken? Have you burned bridges, you've painstakingly made? Have you forsaken and betrayed others for selfish gains?

·         We are perhaps so wrapped up in the regrets of our lives that we do not realise the greatest regret of humanity – rejecting God’s reign and authority.

·         The wonderful news for those who trust in Christ is that He has reversed the effect of that regretful rejection. He died hanging on a tree and became a curse for us so that He may free us from the curse of the law. No longer do we need to fear eternal death in hell for He has set aside a place for us in heaven. Doesn’t that bring great relief to your troubled hearts?

·         Commit to God the other regrets that you are holding on to. Ask Him to lift the burden of guilt from you and to find joy in the reversal of humanity’s greatest regret.

Friendship

Hello All,

What does ‘friendship’ mean to you?

There are some who do not feel the need for friendship. They prefer casual acquaintances and communicate with others only out of necessity.

However, many of us long for loyal and trustworthy friendships. We yearn for friends to displace the loneliness in our hearts with the warmth of their presence.

As C.S. Lewis aptly wrote, ‘Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.’

  

Friendship

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

Dedicated to a dear friend for her friendship in Christ

What does ‘friendship’ mean to you?

Some say, ‘Someone I can talk to’

‘A pal who keeps me company’

‘A buddy who hangs out with me’

‘Someone who shares the same hobbies’

‘One who helps in adversities’

‘One who cheers me up when I’m blue’

Others say, ‘I don’t have a clue!’

King Solomon had much to say

In Proverbs about friends who’ll stay

True in times of sunshine and rain

And those who’ll leave you for their gain

‘A man of many companions

May come to ruin and destruction

But there’s a friend who sticks closer

Than a brother or a sister’

Companions are different from friends

They will not stay true to the end

They may serve as good company

But leave you in adversity

A friend’s love is constant and true

In spring’s blossom and winter blue

No matter what you’re going through

She will never stop loving you

Although her words may hurt at times

She has your best interest in mind

She tells the truth for your well being

Even if words of truth may sting

Her counsel to you is heartfelt

The ice of endless sorrows melt

With the warmth her words provide

In sadness, she is by your side

Although our friends are not perfect

Their loyalty and love reflect

The Source of friendship - Christ Jesus

He’s the Friend who will not fail us

Blessed are the wounds of a Friend

One who was faithful to the end

Who died so that we may be whole

Who brought salvation to our soul

In the fierce storm and rising tide

Jesus is always by our side

What a Friend we have in Jesus

A Friend who will never fail us

Points for Reflection:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

(John 15:12-14 ESV)

·         Those were the very words of Jesus. He is the Friend who laid down His life for us. He went through excruciating pain, suffering and finally death to reconcile unlovable sinners to God. We who were once God’s enemies are now friends of God.

·         Our Friendship with Jesus should be the anchor of our friendship with others. We are to love our friends with the love that we have first received from Him. This love is one of wholehearted loyalty, trust, and sacrifice.

·         Our friendship with others should always point us to Christ. There is always a danger of elevating a human friendship above God. When that happens, we become possessive, self-seeking and to put it plainly, unbearable.

·         Since God has lavished on us such boundless grace and unconditional love, we likewise should put the needs and interests of others above our own. We should love others without expecting anything in return. This calls for sacrifice and the laying down of our lives.

·         Do you value the Friendship you have with Christ? Does your love for Him motivate you to live for Him and obey Him? Are there areas in your life that you need to submit under His lordship?

·         How is your attitude towards friendships? Are you loving the friends that God has brought into your lives with the marvellous love that you have received from Him? Are you pointing your friends to Christ? Are your friendships anchored in Christ?

What Do You Desire Most?

Hello All,

What is your greatest desire? What sets your heart on fire? What motivates you to action?

Some believe that desires are the roots of all the suffering we see in our world. They believe that a person needs to detach himself from all desires to reach a peaceful state where suffering has no effect on him.

However, the Bible tells us that the act of desiring is not wrong, but it is the object and measure of desire that counts.

What Do You Desire Most?

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (10 February 2017)

What is your greatest desire?

What sets your heart on fire?

What motivates you to action?

What stirs your fiery passion?

Stop for a moment and reflect

On desires and their effects

How they affect the way we act

Their influence often trumps the facts

We desire what we don’t own

We crave and covet; groan and moan

When our desires are unmet

The blessings we have, we forget

When we get what we desire

Do we find that we require

More things to quench and satisfy

Our many wants that reach the sky?

Our longings point us to the One

Who did what no one could have done

Who sacrificed His life for us

Are our desires for Jesus?

Do we desire God's kingdom?

It's in Christ we find true freedom

Freedom from chasing earthly things

In Him, we find rest from longings

What do you desire most?

Is it in Jesus that you boast?

Do you long to be more like Him?

Does His love fill you to the brim?

Points for Reflection:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

(Colossians 3:1-2 ESV)

·         Not all earthly desires are bad. Desires for relationships, knowledge, ambition and others are good and healthy desires to have.

·         However, if earthly desires are elevated above God, then those desires become heart idols.

·         The matter here is not eliminating those good earthly desires, but to place them beneath the cross of Jesus Christ.

·         However, if you have bad desires, such as seeking revenge against someone who’s wronged you, having murderous thoughts or lusting after someone or something that’s not yours, then it is all too clear that you need to bring those desires to God in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to help you overcome those desires.

·         Is Jesus the One you desire the most? Do you desire to build His kingdom above your little kingdoms? Do you desire to become more like Christ in character and virtue? Do you desire to bring the Gospel to those who have not put their trust in Christ? Do you desire to love and encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ and point them to Him?