Saturday, November 29, 2008

Black Forest Chocolate Cake


Penny made a Black Forest Chocolate Cake specially for Vivian Pang's ??th birthday... A combination of Blueberry and Fresh Cream sandwiched between three layers of aromatic Chocolate Cake and finally dressed up with Chocolate Ganache, fenced up with Chocolate Stick Biscuit.

Happy ??th Birthday, Vivian!

Overflow with Blueberry

A slightly over exposed image illustrating the beauty of the overflowing Blueberry among the Fresh Cream...

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Good and Evil


In black you can read the word GOOD, in white the word EVIL (inside each black letter is a white letter). It is all very biblical too, because using this to visualize the concept that inside the good there is evil too. Unless we understand God's grace, we will still seek to do good and avoid doing evil. The world is struggling between doing good and evil, and they cannot figure out why good cannot exist without evil and believe that the absence of good is evil.


The world teaches you how to do good and how to avoid doing evil. Every religions in this world also teach you how to be good and how to avoid doing evil. Our Daddy God, the Creator of the heaven and earth, commanded the first man to eat from the Tree of Life instead of the Tree of the Good and Evil and Christianity is about life and not about good or evil... Well, what do you think?

I would stand on the truth and say good is as bad as evil! I am saying this because they are from the same tree which was located at the middle of the Garden. This tree had led Adam to fall in destruction. Let's choose from the right Tree, the Tree of Life. Ask our Daddy God to show you more of Jesus so that His grace and peace can be multiplied in your life. Stop trying to perform and to do good. It is not about what we do, it is all about what Jesus had done on the Cross. Rest in Him and receive life and life more abundantly...

This is called grace because Jesus had finished His work on the Cross.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Faith

What is faith?

Faith is to always have a good expectation of God. To always expect good things from God. Healing is good; prosperity is good; being set free from bondage is good; being kept from danger is good; being protected is good; not to receive the cursed is good, knowing that God is faithful and full of lovingkindness is good… and so on, all because of His grace, the undeserved and unmerited favor from God! This is the only sure ground for us to receive.

Hebrews 11:1 ~ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

How can our faith be activated if we dwell in a covenant which God Himself found fault with? All who rely on observing the law are under the curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." If we abide ourselves in this realm, we are in a situation where by we are constantly expecting bad thing to happen in our life! How to have our faith activated if we are having a wrong conception of who God is and on the other hand depending on our effort to abide in the Law…!

Galatians 3:11~13: But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Yet the law is not of faith, but "THE MAN WHO DOES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM." Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE").

When we are having good expectation of God constantly, our faith will grow unnoticeably. His grace is the unshakable ground for our faith to grow and nothing else.


Pickled Lettuce


Pickled
Lettuce is somehow looks ordinary and also gives an impression of an under favor choice to go with porridge. But this skillful recipe has changed the opinion of many who have tasted it… It is cheap and appetizing and is set to prompt you for another bowl of porridge…

Pickled Lettuce with Red Onion, Ikan Bilis, Chili and Lime Juice.



Side Dishes

Best serve together with other side dishes like Century Egg, Salted Egg, Fried Egg with Seasoned Vegetable, Luncheon Meat, Spicy Smiling Fish, Pickled Vegetable with Peanut and Canned Seasoned Peanut.

You want another bowl of porridge?

Monday, November 24, 2008

David's Heart


King David was a shepherd boy, a musician, a giant killer, a fugitive, King of Israel, and a flawed family man. He was honored by God as a man after God’s own heart not because of what he had done but the way he touched the Father's heart. This beautiful honor from God prompted many Christians to seek what this kind of heart is like… Have you found the way to have a heart that is after God’s own heart?

David, before he became the King of Israel, had already touched the heart of God as tabulated in his beautiful Psalm, Psalm 23. Out of his overflown revelation of God's love and graciousness, he wrote this beautiful Psalm when he was still a shapherd boy in the field.

A psalm of David
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
Psalm 23:3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

To understand his revelation of God’s heart and his spontaneous respond, let’s break this Psalm into two parts. First part is on his revelation of the Father's heart and His deeds while the second part is on David's spontaneous respond.

His revelation of the Father’s heart
The LORD is my shepherd.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He restores my soul.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life

His spontaneous respond
I shall not be in want.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Despite of the fact that he was living under the dispensation of Law, he had a good expectation of how the Father’s heart is. He understood God’s heart is gracious and full of lovingkindness; and he dreamed of having such a forgiven life as he confessed in Psalm 32: 1~2: Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Friend, his dream is our reality and we have the kind of life he longed for when Jesus died for our sins on the Cross. He saw our generation as a forgiven generation because of Jesus' Finished Work on the Cross while he was shepherding the sheep in the field. God, the Father credited to David the honor of "a man after God’s own heart" because of David's understanding of His grace and lovingkindness.

What kind of opinion do you have of God our Father in heaven? How do you find Him as your heavenly Father?

Friend, Psalm 23 is full of the expression of the Grace of God and portrays non of our human effort. When we see His grace and we respond with spontaneity, we have touched the Father's heart and He in turn, credits to us with a honor of "a man after His own heart"…!

Are you still searching...?

John 6:28 ~ 29: Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Jesus, The Greatest Man in Histroy


He created the universe, and yet He found no place to rest His head.
He came to this world He created, and yet the world did not know Him.
He is righteous, and yet He came for the sinners.

They called Him King, and yet He was born in a manger.
They called Him Lord, and yet He washes their feet.
He was a Carpenter, and yet He taught fishermen how to fish.

He had no degree, and yet people called Him Teacher.
He had no medicines, and yet people called Him Healer.
He had no servants, and yet people called Him Master.
He had no army, yet many kings feared Him.

He committed no sin, and yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, and yet He still lives today.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.

Jesus was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not know Him. He was the Word made flesh and made His dwelling among us. Jesus, the greatest Man in History, came from the Father, full of grace and truth…!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

You Are Called!


How do you know whether you have been called to preach His grace?

- You hear what you are hearing and you see what you are seeing… and therefore, you are called!

Many Christians hear but they do not really hear. Many Christians see but they do not really see…

My friends, if you are hearing and you understand what you are hearing and when you are seeing and you understand what you are seeing, you have seen His grace and you have been called to be His Ambassador and you have been given the Ministry of Reconciliation.

You are called to preach His grace!

2 Corinthians 6:1 ~ As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Forgiven Much, Love Much!


God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us . So forgive each other, just as God has forgiven us because of what Christ has done on the Cross. With this gracious good news, he who knows he was forgiven much, will love much.

Apostle Paul always thank God as he remembered the Saints of his day in his prayers, because he heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. Paul blatantly said it was faith in Christ FIRST, then love. Our love flows from faith, not works.


Forgiven Much, Love Much

The GRACE of God has provided the New Covenant believers with a platform to exercise their faith. If we are not depending on His GRACE, our faith can never be activated and we will never have the real faith, hope and love that the Bible is talking about.

For the opposite of Law is Faith; if we observe the law, there will be no faith. The opposite of Work is Grace; if we work to deserve His blessing, grace stops flowing. The opposite of Flesh is Spirit; if we dwell in our flesh, we are not in the Spirit.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Christ, the Mystery Of God


Men go to school to acquire knowledge. The world is taking full advantage of this demand by commercialized teaching and divided teaching into many subjects and all these subjects are found in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the mystery of God.

In Astronomy, He created the Universe.
In Biology, He was born without normal conception.
In Chemistry, He turned water into wine.
In Physics, He disproved the Law of Gravity when He ascended into Heaven.
In Mathematics, 1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4 Given.
In Add Maths, Jesus + Something = Nothing. Jesus + Nothing = Everything!
In Medicine, He healed the sick and cured the blinds without administering a single dose of drugs.
In Law, He is the Author.
In Economics, He disproved the Law of Diminishing Return by feeding five thousand men with two fishes and five loaves of bread.
In Politic, He was the King of the Jews and now King of kings, Lord of Lords.
In Religion, He is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.
In Moral, we love because He first loves us.
In History, History is His Story.

Colossians 2:2~3: My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Wake Up From Your Sleep Walking


Ever since the fall of Adam, the world does not process wisdom but knowledge. The wisdom of God is hidden in Christ and was destined to glorify through His church before the foundation of the earth. According to the Apostle Paul, who was known as the Apostle of Grace, the mystery of Christ is made known by revelation through the Holy Spirit to our spirit not our flesh.

In the midst of the mockery by the multitude, our Father turned the strategy of the devil to nail His Darling Son at the Cross into His power and wisdom. If this Mr. SA Tan, the devil, who is the ruler of this world, knew what was happening to mankind when Jesus died on the Cross, he would never have crucified the Lord of glory on the Cross.

We are actually living in a world that is already saved, delivered and healed but full of ignorant and unbelief…! This is the work of the defeated devil who has no power to reverse the Cross, but to deceive men through their weakness in flesh and blindfold them through their pride with ignorance and unbelief.

Many sincere people of all religions worship their gods with their ignorance definition of divinity not knowing the power and wisdom of the Creator of the heaven and earth in His righteous judgment of His own Darling Son on the Cross. He had poured out His entire wrath of this world onto the body of His Darling Son until He was satisfied and our Lord Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "It's Finished!".

Romans 3:23 ~ 24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

In His righteousness, He lavished His grace in giving assurance to mankind by raising His Darling Son from the dead on the third day for our justification! Jesus' resurrection was not for Himself but for the world because He did not have any problem with sin, bondage and disease.

John 4:24 ~ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

The body of Christ too, has been sleep walking in their belief for too long by worshiping the Father in flesh and self effort. Our Father is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Hear the alarm now? The alarm in the spiritual realm is ringing with the sound of grace and truth which is a contradiction to all human flesh and effort. This spiritual alarm is the Gospel, the power and wisdom of God to save the world and to set His people free from spiritual sleep walking.

Wake up, wake up to the abundant life that we do not deserve but is given to us at Christ’s expense. This is grace…

Ever heard of grace is cheap? Mind you, that is the wrong alarm, it took the Father to offer up Jesus' life, the Heaven best..., and you call that cheap?

Saturday, November 08, 2008

High Tea With Apostle Paul

I had an overwhelming reading experience during my tea break yesterday afternoon when I was reading Apostle Paul’s Epistles. It was as if Paul, the Apostle of Grace, was personally there to share with me his insight on the type of fragrance from a believer.

Apostle Paul was circumcised on the 8th days, from the nation of Israel and tribe of Benjamin. He was a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, he strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. He was so eager that he even made trouble for the church; he did everything the Law demands in order to please God.

But God who set him apart in his mother’s womb, shown him through Christ that what he once thought was valuable but worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Jesus Christ our Lord. He gave up everything else and counted it all as dung! Indeed, Paul counted his deeds through legalistic righteousness as filthy rags.

Paul resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified; the power and the wisdom of God which is a stumbling block to those who are religious and foolishness to the people of the world. He was proud of the Gospel because it is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith. It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”

Paul was grateful that God always made it possible for Christ to lead them to victory in his calling to preach the gospel. God also helped them spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of sweet perfume. In fact, God thinks of them as a sweet perfume that brought Christ to everyone…

(I used Contemporary English Version Bible at High Tea.)

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Same Lie From The Garden


Is there anything wrong with asking believers to love God or even remind them to love God? Even it is out of goodwill... Well, I would say this is the same lie from the Garden that leads believers to fall from grace.

First thing first. We are broke, out of ourselves, how can we love?

We are able to come to our Father God because of Jesus, His Blood had opened a new and living way through His body. We accepted Jesus as our Savior to enter into the Holy of Holies and have intimacy relationship with our Heavenly Father. It is the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father that through His Darling Son, He lavished His love to draw our hearts to Him. This magnificent union is sparking with love when sinners respond to His love by confessing with their mouths, “Jesus is Lord!”, and believing in their heart that God raised Him from the dead. Believers are already in the Holy of Holies enjoying His majestic love…

Here comes the friendly utterance, “You have to love God!” from legalistic or religious leaders. With this decent encouragement, believers are actually being motivated to turn away from the Holy of Holies. They are now made facing the Outer Court through the entrance of the Holy of Holies. Their religious environment gently pushes them out of the Holy of Holies and their religious teachings make them busy with the rituals at the Outer Court. They have fallen from grace…

This is the same evil lie from the Garden… It is back to the same principle of eating from the right tree. Christianity is not about right or wrong and do and don’t. It is about life. It is about the Tree of Life not about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The moment the Holy Spirit convicted believers to respond to Jesus’ love, the life to love has been imparted to them by the Holy Spirit. They are made holy by the Holy Spirit to love God the moment they accepted Jesus as their Savior. It takes the same lie from the Garden to lead these innocent believers to fall from their high status of sons of God to slaves bind by the law when they abide to the law trying to perform their love for God...

Romans 3:22 ~ The righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…

Those who are accepting this lie from the Garden are being deceived to establish themselves in the wrong righteousness. If we established ourselves in the principle of do and don’t, we can never understand the righteousness of God. If we dwell in our flesh, we will never understand the righteousness of God. If we eat from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, we will never understand the righteousness of God. These establishments encourage and give glory to SELF... i.e. self consciousness, self effort, and self righteousness.

To counter this evil lie from the Garden, authority has been given to those who are established in His grace by using His word; i.e. " It is written, we love because He first love us! "

If we are not established in His grace, we can never discern what is from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and what is from the Tree of Life..!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

My Thoughts on Prayer


Philemon 3 ~ 7

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother/sister, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.


A gracious dedication to my readers

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

G.R.A.C.E.


God is love. His nature is love. His love is different from human love. He demonstrated His love by offer up His Darling Son for us. God made His Darling Son who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in His Darling Son.

1 John 4:10 - This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Indeed, this is love, not that we have done magnificent thing that we deserved God’s love but at our worst, while we are still sinners, he sent His begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for us on the Cross…

Indeed, this is love that the moment we come to know about this divine love, this providence had already been fully lavished at the expense of His Darling Son…

Indeed, this is love that through the death of His Darling Son, God bound Himself by cutting an everlasting contract with us sealed by the Blood of His Darling Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life…

Indeed, this is love so that, having been justified by His grace; we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life…

Indeed, this is love that He who did not spare His own son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things…?

Indeed, this is love; for we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich…

Indeed, this is love; for God is able to make all grace abound towards us, that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work…

Indeed, this is love that my God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus…

Indeed, this is love, for no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ…

Indeed, this is love in vain, if we cannot see G.R.A.C.E. (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense).


Sunday, November 02, 2008

Ownership by Pastor Peter Youngren


Our Daddy in Heaven by His grace had opened a new and living way through the curtain, that is, the body of Christ, for us to enter into His Promised Land. Through the understanding of His Grace and the teaching of His Righteousness, we have matured from a child to an adult in the Lord. With our Sonship authority no longer under the supervision of the law, we are to step forward in faith to claim our ownership in Christ. This is the purposes of His grace that we can come to Him without any hindrance as everytings in Christ has been given to us unmerittedly and underservedly. We only have to grow up to own them!

So let's us take the full advantage of His grace and step forward to claim our ownership to what we already have in Christ! Rest in the Lord and watch the following Videos from Pastor Peter Youngren's preaching on the subject of Ownership in the Kingdom of God.


Peter Youngren on Ownership Part 1


Peter Youngren on Ownership Part 2


Peter Youngren on Ownership Part 3


Peter Youngren on Ownership Part 4

Peter Youngren on Ownership Part 5


Peter Youngren on Ownership Part 6

Saturday, November 01, 2008

GRACE


Grace, the charisma of Wisdom and aroma of Christ, is the new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, the body of Christ. Still, not many believers appreciate this unmerited and undeserved favor from God… While much has been written about Grace in this blog, as a Child of God, is it so wrong to depend fully on this favor lavished from the Majestic Creator of this universal, our Father in the Heavenly place?

Well, let’s go back to school and look at our dictionary and see how grace looks like in the eyes of the world…

This definition of Grace is taken from Dictionary.com.

GRACE

Noun
1. Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. A pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. Favor or good will.
4. A manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school.
5. Mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
6. Favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.
7. An allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied: The life insurance premium is due today, but we have 31 days' grace before the policy lapses. Compare grace period.
8. Theology.
a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
9. Moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.
10. A short prayer before or after a meal, in which a blessing is asked and thanks are given.
11. (Usually initial capital letter) a formal title used in addressing or mentioning a duke, duchess, or archbishop, and formerly also a sovereign (usually prec. by your, his, etc.).
12. Graces, Classical Mythology. the goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae.
13. Music. grace note.

Verb (used with object)
14. To lend or add grace to; adorn: Many fine paintings graced the rooms of the house.
15. To favor or honor: to grace an occasion with one's presence.


From the above definition, the world has good impression indeed on Grace and they understand Grace is for addressing matters that are good. It is encouraging to see how the world defines the word, Grace. But in the imagination of those under the religious and legalistic influence, they tend to make Grace unacceptable because there is no room for their self effort and participation.

But in term of idiom, the people in the world who depend on their head knowledge, seem to find themselves hard to understand Grace. Even Christians who do not depend on the Holy Spirit but their own knowledge, they too, find themselves unable to understand Grace. The world missed their interpretation, so as those with religious and legalistic background.

Let’s continue with what they think about Grace in term of idiom in the dictionary…

Idioms
16. Fall from grace,
a. Theology. to relapse into sin or disfavor.
b. to lose favor; be discredited: He fell from grace when the boss found out he had lied.
17. Have the grace to, to be so kind as to: Would you have the grace to help, please?


As the children of the Most High God, we use Bible to interpret Bible. So let’s go back to the Bible and see what Apostle Paul said about fallen from grace.

Galatians 5:4You who are trying to be justified by LAW have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

It is when we are trying to justified ourselves by law; we are fallen away from grace. It is not what the world says when we sin; we are fallen away from grace. It is when we are trying to deserve His blessings through our abiding of the Ten Commandments, then we are called fallen from grace. If it is by grace, it is unmerited and undeserved favor. Fallen from grace is not about sinning but about justification through observing the Ten Commandments!

In the Book of Hebrews, the Jews were warned not to fall back under law after Jesus was glorified but to abide in His grace because He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Hebrews 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Acknowledge and appreciate His Grace, this is a new and living way…