Jehovah-Ropheka - The LORD My Healer

2007-04-23T18:20:00.000+08:00

“Avec la foi, on ne fait pas grand chose; sans la foi, rien.
With faith, we don't do much; without faith, we do nothing.”

-Gilbert Cesbron

The Bible Wall

2007-04-16T19:18:00.001+08:00

6 months ago, the Lord gave me a vision. He showed me a beautiful white wall, spanning metres across, further than I could see. And on it were the books of the Bible, neatly laid out across the entire surface.

When the vision passed, I opened my eyes and in front of me were boxes stacked up everywhere. All 70 of them... I had been sharing apartments with friends for the past 10 months and my room literally had the walking space of a shoebox. I would stack boxes up towards the ceiling to save space, only to find them tumbling down in the middle of the night. That was why I never took up architecture. ^_^

As I sat on my bed looking at the boxes perched precariously towards one side, grief suddenly overcame me. I didn't know what was going on but it was as if my mind just snapped. My room became a prison and I had nothing to look forward to when I came home. I had been living in a cell for almost a year and I just wanted to give up.

Then the vision came. Innocently, not realising that the Lord is the LORD, I asked the Him how it was possible for me to live in a place, with a wall large enough to fit the all books of the Bible?

His answer was short and simple, "You'll be surprised..." And indeed I was. ^_^

2 months later the Lord found a place for me a couple of minutes from work. It had just been recently built and when the owners were about to place an ad in the papers, the Lord conveniently plonked me right at their doorstep.

It was perfect. Except for the air-conditioner that wouldn't switch on and the fridge door that wouldn't close, but let's not go there. ^_^

348 pages and lots of sticky tape later, the Bible wall was finally finished. All 27 books of the New Testament on 1 wall.

Now my next challenge - the rest of the 39 books of the Old Testament.
Lord, I need a larger wall... Help! ^_^

Thank you Father... Love never fails.

You never fail.

2007-04-11T18:30:00.000+08:00

“Young man, sit down: When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”

-said to a young William Carey, who later became known as the "father of modern missions".

2007-04-02T18:19:00.000+08:00

“I used to think that prayer should have the first place and teaching the second. I now feel it would be truer to give prayer the first, second and third places and teaching the fourth”

-James O. Fraser

2007-03-17T18:24:00.000+09:00

“There are two ways of spreading light.

To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

-Edith Wharton

2007-02-21T15:20:00.000+09:00

“Everybody can be great... You only need a heart full of grace.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr

2007-02-19T17:31:00.001+09:00

“If you do not stand up for anything, then you'll end up falling for everything...”

-Anonymous

Will you stand up for your faith? Or will you end up falling like the others? The choice is yours...

May the Grace and Peace of the Lord be with you ^_^

2007-02-10T13:01:00.000+09:00

“You will never stand alone while standing on the Word of God...”

-Kathryn Souza-Wine

2006-10-16T16:04:00.000+08:00

“I believe in God like I believe in the sun rise. Not because I can see it, but because I can see all that it touches...”

-C. S. Lewis

2006-10-10T16:50:00.000+08:00

“This much is certain, that we have no theological right to set any sort of limits to the loving-kindness of God which has appeared in Jesus Christ - who experienced hell, and harrowed hell. Thus the church will not preach hell - “the gospel at gunpoint” - it will preach the overwhelming power of grace and the weakness of human wickedness in the face of it.”

-Karl Barth

2006-10-03T18:58:00.000+08:00

Why did Jesus Christ sit down at the right hand of God?

When I was young, I didn't know why Jesus sat down next to God when He was received up into heaven. I used to think He did it because Jesus is the Son of God, and if your father is God, then you'll surely get to sit down right? ^_^

Nice try Andy... =)

Well, if you don't know why, the answer is right there in the Book of Hebrews.

"And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

(Hebrews 10:11-14)

Jesus sat down because He had offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and that sacrifice is forever. Every other priest had to offer sacrifices daily and repeatedly, but still it could never take away the sins of their people. However, Jesus Christ our High Priest, by one offering has perfected forever His people - those saved in the name of Christ Jesus.

And it is because of His finished work - His perfect sacrifice, that Jesus Christ can finally sit down at His Father's right hand, until His second coming...

Be blessed, my friends ^_^

2006-09-18T23:52:00.000+08:00

“Christians ought not to be smothered in fear. There is a spiritual readiness, where we return to having the peace of God stand guard over our hearts and minds. What an incredible witness it is to a lost and fearful society when the Christian acts like a child of God, living under the loving sovereignty of the Heavenly Father. The Christian needs to walk in peace, so no matter what happens they will be able to bear witness to a watching world.”

-Henry Blackaby

2006-08-27T22:52:00.000+08:00

Downhere - A Better Way
From the album Wide-Eyed and Mystified

I'm not alone, I really believe
You never go, You never leave
Here and now, You always stay
I love you could not be said a better way

It's everything You've promised
There's no greater love than this
From prophets until today
A man laying down His life for His friends
Your sacrifice has spoken, You gave everything
And I love you could not be said
A better way

I am forgiven, I clearly see
It's why You came to do all you did for me
Trading earth with heaven, You took my place
I love you could not be said
A better way

Because You redeem, I know what's to come
Everything I could lose here, You've already won
So You have my surrender, with passion obey
I love you could not be said
A better way

2006-08-08T23:11:00.000+08:00

Whenever I look up into the night sky, it reminds me how finite we all are and how infinite the universe really is. It is like God painted the heavens above to remind us of our place; that He is BIG and we're actually really really small... ^_^

2006-08-05T00:13:00.000+08:00

“If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshiped.”

-Evelyn Underhill

2006-08-01T18:51:00.000+08:00

There are 2 kinds of bible zealous people in this world...

The first are those who use the bible to support their opinion.
The other uses their opinion to support the bible.

I know which one I am. How about you?

10 Steps To A Happy Life

2006-07-31T14:55:00.000+08:00

This is a nice revelation I received in the middle of work today...

-10 Steps To A Happy Life-

Step 1: You need God.
Step 2: Walk the rest of the steps with Him.

^_^

2006-07-30T01:25:00.000+08:00

“Whence comes this idea that if what we are doing is fun, it can't be God's will? The God who made giraffes, a baby's fingernails, a puppy's tail, a crooknecked squash, the bobwhite's call, and a young girl's giggle, has a sense of humor. Make no mistake about that.”

-Catherine Marshall

2006-07-24T23:29:00.000+08:00

I've finally finished typing out 1 Timothy... Praise God!
Can't wait to start reviewing it in-depth and get into the details of this last epistle of Apostle Paul ^_^

Review of The Epistle to Philemon

2006-07-10T20:28:00.000+08:00

The Epistle to Philemon was written around 61-63 AD, during one of Paul's imprisonments. This book can be summed up rather simply - Paul edifies and praises Philemon and company for their love and faith towards Christ Jesus and the saints. Paul then appeals to Philemon to take back Onesimus, not as his slave but rather like a brother, in Christ.

This letter is rather interesting as Paul mentions that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus no less than 3 times (verse 1, 9 and 23). It was so subtly used that I would never have noticed it if I didn't chance upon one of the commentaries while doing my research on this book. Of course the Lord is not a God of luck and chance but of divine appointment, and I believe that this phrase Paul used is of great significance in this letter. Why?

Onesimus used to be the slave of Philemon's household but now he has somehow ended up with Paul. Whether he ran away to him or was given by Philemon to Paul is an on-going debate by theologians. However the important point is Paul has now found Onesimus to be profitable to himself and Philemon, not because of his role as a slave, but now as a fellow brother-in-Christ.

This is where the phrase "prisoner in Christ" finally makes sense. Paul recognises himself as a prisoner in Christ and Onesimus once a prisoner to Philemon as a slave. He has managed to put into perspective their status not among men, but with regards to the Lord Jesus. This way, even though slavery was a common form of labour in his time, Paul attempts to convince Philemon to accept Onesimus back and treat him with the same respect of a fellow brother in the Lord (v16).

In addition, Paul also challenges Philemon to expand his capacity to love. He has already done so by his love which has greatly refreshed the saints (v7). However Paul desires for Philemon to also extend his love to his slave Onesimus, regardless of his past wrongdoings. (v18)

Paul doesn't use his position as a respected apostle of Jesus Christ to command Philemon to do so, even though he well could. Rather he appeals to him... Like how a brother would... ^_^

Finally Paul ends by reminding Philemon about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; His grace which transforms every believer who actively seeks to form a relationship with Him and brings salvation to all who believes in the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross.

Well I hope this review helps make sense of this letter.

The Lord's Blessing and Love be with you all. ^_^

2006-07-08T21:35:00.000+08:00

I've started hand-typing the books of the bible into Ropheka. They can be found just below the verse and quotes of the day. It's really no surprise that I begun with the book of Philemon as it’s the shortest book in the bible ^_^

Typing the books out has given me a unique experience when studying the bible. Because I'll usually end up breezing through the verses, I end up forgetting them as I go. This way, the verses are easier to understand, God's heart seems clearer, and the verses stay in... Longer... ^_^

The amazing thing is in the middle of it, I suddenly felt Apostle Paul emotions; his enthusiasm and zeal, his passion and love, his heart and dedication. It’s a wonderful feeling to have, really.

Coming up next, the letters of Apostle Paul to Timothy...

2006-07-04T15:26:00.000+08:00

Welcome to Ropheka @ blogspot... The place where I hope you'll find answers to anything Jesus Christ. This project has been on my mind and in my heart for months now and I've finally come round to doing it ^_^

This is my journey, to find out more about my Lord Jesus Christ; the work He finished for me in the past, how His sacrifice has affected my present life, and how He has changed the course of my future.

For He died and rose again, that we all may have everlasting life...

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory...... To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:14-19