lightwalk.saltstory

it's not what you do for me
it's not what you give to me
it's not about anything, but you my king

cause you are more beautiful
than anything in this world
even more wonderful then any gift you bring

my treasure is you, there's no other
my treasure is you, more then gold
heaven and earth, they have lost their lustre
you alone are the treasure that i hold

nothing can take away; nothing can separate
nothing can come between your heart and mine
cause you are my everything, the hope of eternity
and you will forever be the love of my life

my treasure is you, there's no other
my treasure is you, more then gold
heaven and earth, they have lost their lustre
you alone are the treasure that i hold

your love is hidden in my heart
and my heart is hidden in your love
your love is hidden in my heart
and my heart is hidden in your love

my treasure is you, there's no other
my treasure is you, more then gold
heaven and earth, they have lost their lustre
you alone are the treasure that i hold.
you alone the treasure.

You Alone My Treasure.
Treasure - Meredith Andrews

I am here at a community centre surrounded by boisterous girls who've just ended their ballet class. I smile at the conversations of parents about extra classes and arrangements to bring their children for such enrichment classes. I wonder how many of these girls are here by choice. They seem happy enough.

But I bet they'd be happier spending time with their parents. Oh, for the woes of our competitive environment in Singapore today. Middle-class working parents are always on the lookout for courses to specialize their kids and help them distinguish themselves. For their good, of course. Kids need choices to be made for them at early ages. They don't know what's good for themselves yet, right?

I realise how packed my week is going to be even after my ORD. Apparently things have cropped up at office and I'm going to have to meet my ex-colleagues for brunch on Sat, hopefully at a nearby place (unlikely) and it's going to be vegetarian. Hmm. I wonder how Hui Peng is doing for his A-levels!

Tues is packed with a medical check-up to attend and COOLIOS people Kim and ZE to meet up :) encouragement, bonding and mentoring session yes? :D

Wed marks the start of work and I'm getting hyped up about it! 4 army boys reunite with a common purpose of talent development of young potential stars for the great red dot that is Singapore. Haha. So high-falutin.

Sat rehearsal, Sunday church. Man, I really haven't gotten into the holiday mood. It's just a transition from NS work to civilian work. Kin Nam gimme some advice on how you transited! :D

I am utterly convinced over the issue of redemption (pre/post-conversion) that only the Holy Spirit can convict of sin, righteousness and judgment (as again, pre/post-conversion), only Jesus can save and these can only happen as the Father so wills it.

Often I ask myself what I should be doing for friends who've fallen short though they claim to be Christians. The Holy Spirit wastes no time in reminding me that I too, am a sinner, saved by grace and have no advantage over my fellow Christian. Their struggle/failure/sin is between them and God. And my mum made a very astute observation, that God will not continue to prosper the ministry of such people who run things on their own effort or wisdom, believing themselves to be justified by a standard of righteousness apart from God's provision.

I am utterly surprised how people can twist the Word of God and make highly tenuous links between Scripture in order to justify their interpretation while they conveniently cast doubt over clear commands in the Word by questioning the translator's interpretation or that of the Prophets themselves. After all, prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet 1:21)

Sometimes I do wonder if it is wise to disregard the specificities of the Mosaic Law by glossing it with the two greatest commandments "Love the Lord thy God with all of your life" and "Love thy neighbour as thyself" as we run into ethical dilemmas over homosexuality/abortion rights of the mother/euthanasia for the suffering when we start to ask "Okay, so how do we show love to people concerned in such matters?"

My take on this is that the Bible still holds very clear standards for such issues today. And sometimes people don't recognise true love when they see it. How many people recognised that Jesus came in true perfect love? Not as a threat to authority or as a heretic, but a willing sacrifice lamb. Paul the apostle exhorts us to speak the truth in love, love that builds a person up and does not tear him down. But I believe that there is necessity for such love to tear down the very establishments in a person's heart that have been set up against the truth of God. Not by means of violent force or statutory obligation, but rather by peaceful yet firm admonishment.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5)

Love never makes compromises to leave people in their state of sin. As the hallowed passage on Love goes:

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Cor 13:6)