Sometimes…

Hello All,

Sometimes the bitterness of life brings out the sweetness of the love and kindness of a friend.

If we had a choice, we would rather have a life without a trace of bitterness, hardships, and heartbreaks.

But sometimes it is during the most painful moments of your life that the love and kindness of a friend are most evident.

Sometimes…

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

Sometimes

Bitterness brings out the sweetness

Of a friend, whose love and kindness

Surpass the bitterness of pain

And shelter our souls from the rain

Sometimes

Bitterness brings out the sweetness

Of God’s love, whose grace and goodness

Surpass the bitterness of grief

And help our hearts find relief

Sometimes

Bitterness brings out the sweetness

Of the cross, where Christ, the Sinless

Took on the bitterness of shame

And rescued our souls from the flame

Sometimes

Bitterness brings out the sweetness

Of a friend, whose love and kindness

Reflect the perfect love of God

Though they are imperfect and flawed

Points for Reflection:

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

(John 15:12-14 ESV)

·       A friend whom you feel safe sharing your struggles with and who constantly points you to Christ is indeed a great blessing from God.

·       Despite the imperfections of our friends, their love is a reflection of God’s perfect love.

·       Jesus Christ is the perfect Friend. He laid down His life so that sinners like us, who were once God’s enemies, can be reconciled to God as His friends.

·       Because Jesus has laid down His life for us, we are told to lay down our lives for our friends. We cannot die the death that Jesus died to save sinners, for we ourselves are sinners in need of saving. But we can die to our selfish desires to live for ourselves. We can put the needs of others before ours in wholehearted service and sacrifice.

·       Who are the friends that you can be showing God’s love to? How can you mirror God’s love to them? Who can you be reaching out to today?

Life Makes No Sense

Hello All,

Can you recall a time when life made no sense? Are you walking through such a time?

Can you recall a time when your mind shut down and refused to acknowledge the pain in your heart?

Have you ever felt numb? Have you ever turned to distractions and drugs to numb those deep-seated wounds?

Life Makes No Sense

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

Life makes no sense

It’s all pretense

Nothing is real

That’s what I feel

Life makes no sense

The fog is dense

I feel no pain

I feel insane

Life makes no sense

It’s all nonsense

I am encaged

On a blank page

God, give me sense

When I feel dense

My mind is dim

My heart is grim

The cross makes sense

In life’s nonsense

When I can’t think

And when I sink

Points for Reflection:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

(Psalms 34:18 ESV)

·       When we are at our wits' end and can make no sense of life, the cross of Jesus Christ makes sense.

·       When we think we have lost all hope, the cross floods our empty trenches with hope.

·       Sometimes it is in our unfulfilled desires that we find true fulfilment in Christ.

·       Life's confusion and pain are megaphones that blast their message to us: this world is a mess and so are we.

·       If we are ever tempted to curse God in our pain, stop a moment to consider the suffering that Jesus Christ endured on the cross.

·       Although we cannot make sense of suffering, we cannot say that God does not care. He knows why; we don't. But He cares.

·       Jesus knows and has experienced suffering so that we can be spared from God's righteous judgement for our sin. We have rejected God’s rule over our lives, but He has accepted those of us who turn to Him as His beloved children.

·       Life may not make sense, but the cross does. Cling to the cross no matter what.

Life from the Ground

Hello All,

There are many things that do not seem to make sense. Many puzzles remain unsolved and mysteries unrevealed.

When these puzzles and mysteries hit us on a personal level, it hurts. Our hearts can make no sense of the pain of disappointment, betrayal, and loss.

Are there areas in your life that do not seem to make sense? Are you still hurting from the pain of disappointment, betrayal, and loss?

However, in unexpected ways, trials forge endurance, pain brings healing, and loss is gain. Life emerges from the ground through death.

Life from the Ground

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

Life emerges from the ground

Life springs from a heart that was dead

Life from death is what I’ve found

Life comes from my Saviour who bled

Life emerges from the ground

Life springs from a soul that was dead

Life in Christ is what I’ve found

Life comes from my Jesus who bled

Life emerges from the ground

Though pain and anguish stay with me

Life in Him is what I’ve found

Hope, through this life, He gives to me

Points for Reflection:

"And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

(John 12:23-24 ESV)

·       We were spiritually dead in our sin. But through the death of Jesus Christ, He gives life to those who trust in Him.

·       Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ and received life in Him?

·       Now we die a different kind of death. We have died from the life we used to live. We’re no longer enslaved to sin but we are free from the judgment of sin. We are now slaves of a loving God.

·       In this life, we still struggle with the desire to sin but we are not enslaved to it. Through the Holy Spirit, God has given us the power to turn away from temptations. Although we still give in to temptation now and again, the Holy Spirit convicts and brings us to repentance.

·       What temptations do you struggle with? Bring your struggles to our merciful God in prayer.

·       Life emerges from the ground, though pain and anguish stay with me. Life in Him is what I’ve found. Hope, through this life, He gives to me

Clarity in the Fog

Hello All,

After the rain comes the fog. After the turmoil comes tranquillity. After uncertainty comes clarity.

There is a sadness that lingers after the loss of someone or something we hold dear. Maybe the sadness is not as intense or heart-wrenching as it used to be. But it lingers like the fog over the grassy plains.

But this sadness is not without joy. Joy is not absent in the hearts of those whose faith and hope are in Christ.

Clarity in the Fog

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (5 October 2017)

Thick fog blankets the grassy plains

The fields are drenched with heaven’s rain

The flowers are soft to the touch

Joy and sadness mingle as such

Thick fog blankets the grassy plains

It tells of the grief that remains

The sadness is more peaceful now

Joy has entered with a still bow

Thick fog blankets the grassy plains

I see clearly after the rain

In the fog, God brings clarity

Joy He’s given despite misery

Thick fog blankets the grassy plains

The cross gives me hope in the rain

The future is bright and gleaming

Joy in God’s grace helps me to sing

Points for Reflection:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

(Romans 15:13 ESV)

·       Despite pain and loss, joy resides in the knowledge of the restored relationship we have with God that was once broken because of sin. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have been reconciled to God and can look forward to an eternity of bliss with Him.

·       We may suffer pain and loss in this broken world. But this pain lasts but a moment in light of the eternity of bliss we will enjoy in heaven when we see God face to face. Even in the midst of brokenness, God is there to comfort us with His unending love.

·       Yes, there’s light in the darkness and clarity in the fog. There’s hope when all seems hopeless. That hope is found in the cross of Christ alone.

Buried in the Sand

Hello All,

Are there relationships, items, sinful habits, and memories that you find hard to let go of?

Are those elements weighing you down and keeping you from moving forward?

There comes a point in our lives when we have sufficiently grieved the loss of something and we know that it is time to move on. It is time to bury it in the sand.

It’s immensely difficult to part with elements that we have grown so attached to. It feels as if we are cutting off a part of ourselves.

Buried in the Sand

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling

It’s all buried in the sand

Fresh, wet soil falls from my hands

It now has no hold on me

Jesus Christ has set me free

It’s all buried in the sand

Pain, the past, fall from my hands

They now have no hold on me

Jesus Christ has set me free

It’s all buried in the sand

Shame, my sin, fall from my hands

They now have no hold on me

Jesus Christ has set me free

Points for Reflection:

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, Christ has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”

(Colossians 1:21-22 ESV)

·       As believers in Christ, our sin and shame have no hold on us. Christ died in our place and took God’s punishment for our sin. He has buried our sin and shame in the sand.

·       Because of His death and resurrection, we are now clothed in His righteousness. We have hope and new life in Him. He has set us free.

·       There are times when we lose sight of the wonderful hope and freedom we have in Christ. We lose sight because we are still living in a broken world and we suffer from the effects of the Fall.

·       But let us be reminded that the pain in this life is only temporal for we can look forward to the day when we will see God face to face and enjoy Him forever.

·       Are there elements you need to commit to God and bury in the sand?