3 trees

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: " I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!"

The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean. " I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!

The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.

Years, passed. The rain came, the sun shone and the little trees grew tall. One day three wood cutters climbed the mountain. The first wood cutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. "Now I shall make a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" the first tree said.

The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It's perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. " I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!"

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last wood cutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the wood cutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the wood cutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, or treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.

The second tree smiled when the wood cutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and awed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river, instead she was taken to a little lake.

The third tree was confused when the wood cutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. " All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..."

Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him." Her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood. " This manger is beautiful." She said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and a thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She new she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten wood pile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

The next time you feel down because you didn't get what you wanted, sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.

Lesson 5 : Be Merciful

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. (Matt 5:7)

Merriam Webster def: Mercy
1 a : Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also : lenient or compassionate treatment mercy>
2 a : A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion
3 : Compassionate treatment of those in distress mercy among the poor>

Mercy from GOD
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:1-7)

Mercy/Compassion toward man: (Matt 18:22-35)
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
"But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'
And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
"So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." Be Blessed! Dear saints.

Lesson 3 : Meekness, Gentleness, Kindness

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.(Matt 5:5)

For the first time, i now realized that the important and practical to know and to understand the beatitude that was spoken by our Lord Jesus. It was place right in the beginning of His ministry and thus it has showed the important of these Words and i believed it also laid the basis of our Christian walk. Without this, it is hard for us to do His will or to do the rest of Matt 5 to 7 and the rest of His commandment. Do remember that His Greatest commandment for us is to Love HIM and to love our neighbor (our spouse, our children, our colleague - boss or subordinate, our friends etc). In fact, i believed our Lord is also telling us about Himself too, He was a living example. He was poor in spirit, He mourned for His people and He is also meek to His people. He lead by example. And that is my Lord, my God.
Today we have come to Lesson 3 : Meekness or Gentleness or Kindness . And it is also found in the fruit of the Spirit which is now in us (Gal 5:22-23). But i just want to give you the following verse to sum up the goodness and blessing of being meek, kind and gentle to our Lord and our neighbor :
But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (Psa 37:11). Be Blessed.

Lesson 2 : Dependence on our God

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. (Matt 5:4)
Not only we have to be humble or to be poor in spirit before our God, we also have to acknowledge our lack or our spiritual poverty, and thus, we have to learn to mourn for our condition. In Psalm 30 : "I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: "What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!" You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever". (Psalm 30:1-12).
Therefore we need our Lord to lead us and to give us wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of HIM and fully depend on HIM. Amen.

First lesson : Humble

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(Matt 5:3)
"虚心的人有福了！因为天国是他们的"。

In Chinese, "虚心" mean "Modest", and the meaning of "Modest" is having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions. The greater part of mankind are insensible of this their condition; but think themselves rich, and increased with goods just like the pharisee and those who came and challenge with our Lord Jesus: there are some who are sensible of it, who see their poverty and want, freely acknowledge it, bewail it, and mourn over it; are humbled for it, and are broken under a sense of it; entertain low and mean thoughts of themselves; seek after the true riches, both of grace and glory; and frankly acknowledge, that all they have, or hope to have, is owing to the free grace of God. Now these are the persons intended in this place; who are not only "poor", but are poor "in spirit"; in their own spirits, in their own sense, apprehension, and judgment: and may even be called "beggars", as the word may be rendered; for being sensible of their poverty, they place themselves at the door of mercy, and knock there; their language is, "God be merciful". And i recalled this portion in the bible :
"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14). "Humility" is the first lesson that we have to learn and i must confess this is the "hardest" to learn. Our Lord says : if you want to the greatest, you must be the least, and remember our Lord Jesus wash the feet of the disciple? Just as Pro 18:12 say: "Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility." And we will be blessed if we choose to be humble and not haughty. Be a doer and not a reader. Be blessed!

Glory be to God!

Last night, i have another wonderful experience with all our dear brothers when we come together to seek our Lord Jesus Christ for next book to pursuit for our brother's pursuit on every Wednesday. 8 of us were on our knee for more than 1 hour, seeking HIM for the book to pursuit. As this is not the first time He had revealed to all of us, this time we have sured that our Good Lord will reveal to us again. Of course, some do come with suggestion on their mind, some come without a book on their mind, some come with a tired mind. But Glory to God, after much prayer, one of the brother, one brother suggest doing 1 John. And that is where, we took a break and fellowship among one another, and we came out with Corinthian, Ephesian, Gospel of John.
And so we continue to seek the Lord for further guidance and for further confirmation on just on 1 book our of this 4, it is not that the other 3 is no good, but during our first half of prayer, we told HIM our needs, but of course, not our wills but HIS WILL.
Praise the Lord, during the second half prayer, with one heart, we conclude that we will do Gospel of John. I praise God for all these young people, and as for me, yet again, the verse say: taste and see that the Lord is Good. I have again saw the faithfulness of God revealed to me. If we seek, He is more than willing to reveal His Heart to all of us.
Praise the Lord that we are one!! Glory be to God for ever and evermore. Hallelujah!!

For the sake........

Brought Bryan (my son) to Army Open House recently, and in order to collect all the badges, we have to finish 8 stations of games and obstacles, out of which, one of them is: "Repelling" (where you often saw in the war movie where soldiers using robes to slide down from the helicopter". But this is from the wall (about approx 10m) instead of using helicopter. And if you would look down from there, it is not easy. But for the sakes of Bryan, without considering much, i took up the challenger. Put on the gear and go for it. But the moment, where i have to lean my back out of the door "just" by holding on to the rope? imaging the whole weight of yours, and what happen if my hands do not have the strength......at the moment, fear came all the sudden. But for the sakes of Bryan, i do it and i did it.
But the revelation that i have received thru this experience is that, that was another "safety" ropes that was on me, ready to pull me if i lost control of myself. Today, do we see this "Safety robe" that is on us. We may know it but, just like me, if i do not walk out of the door, i will not know the effectiveness of the "safety robes". Likewise, our Lord Jesus Christ for our sakes has given His life for the church, i pray that our Lord will open our eye too, that our lives on earth is also for the sakes of the saints. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you. Be Blessed.

A Beloved Brother's Prayer

Yes! Amen we should really have this attitude in our daily life,to pray for all the saints not only for our daily needs but especially to all the Saints and much the Church revival.
"Lord teach us to call your precious name, open our eyes, give us spiritual understanding, we want to know your way and want to walk upon it.
Thank you for keeping us from the evil one.
Thank you that you came into our life as a life giving spirit.
Father thank you for your son Jesus Christ who save us and brought us back to you and make us to a temple where he can rest and make his work accordingly to you.
Make us more dependent to him, for apart from him we can do nothing to pleased you.
Gain our heart, continue to work in us until we are fully transform into your son's image.
Saturate us with your son Jesus Christ so that you will be satisfy in every fruit of his work in us.
Give us more revelation so that we are able to see your son and his unsearchable kingdom.
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that we can participate with you the richness of the Father,thank you for giving yourself as a center of our enjoyment.
Oh Lord, free us from any bind of ourself so that we can enjoy you more and more, give us back our first love to you, for you are our true inheritance.
Amen ! Lord you are in us and we are in you nothing can draw us away from your love , for God loves you and you love us !Father has given us to you, so we are yours! . Everything what yours is also the Father his. Thank you Lord Jesus".

Pray always!!

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt 6:9-13)

How beautiful is this if you compare John 17 and Matt 6. It is approximate 3 years apart. Matthew 6 was at His beginning of our Lord Jesus Christ earthly ministry and John 17 was at His end of His earthly ministry. And this is something that is always close to His Heart. That is, "alway praying for all of us". Prayed that our Heavenly Father will keep us from the evil one. He is indeed our Great High Priest.
How often do we pray to our God and also pray for our loved ones? we should pray to our God and pray for the church everyday. Especially this last generation, especially in Singapore, on one hand, worldly event like "integrated resort, Formula 1", spiritual event like : "Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Thomas, Da Vinci code, Another Bible" which can be easily purchase off the shelf from any bookshop.
All these will draw us away from God. It is either you are busy enjoying the world, or you are so occupied reading all other book EXCEPT, " THE BIBLE". No wonder our Lord that in the last days, many hearts will grow cold, and will lost their first love. So, let us also learn to be like our Lord Jesus Christ, pray for our loved one and also pray for the church. Be blessed.