What a Lesson on Anger Management from God!

It was a hectic day at work today, having to work on 2 proposals on policy recommendations, complete my annual performance and self-assessment exercise on the Intranet (which was way overdued by weeks), 2 meetings in the morning and to attend to a last-minute lunch appointment with a friend from MobileOne to gather some industry validations and findings.

One of the proposals had been scheduled to be tabled next Wednesday for management approval and needed to be submitted at least 2 days before the meeting for circulation to the heads of departments. I was struggling with it for the past 1 day and was awaiting the portions from my subordinate to fill in as one of the appendices. Despite several reminders, the latter slipped his deadline today.

Just before the end of the day, my reporting officer was upset with me for not being able to let him vet through the proposal today. I felt so miserable, yet angry with him for not listening to my explanation. More so with my subordinate who has not once but slipped on his work on several occasions despite my gentle counselling.

This morning's devotion on Psalm 4 couldn't be more applicable. It's amazing how God's Word for the day has been so reflective of my emotional turmoil. God's reminder of proper anger management is a great counsel for my soul. Thank you Lord, for by Your strength, I have the freedom to forgive others and exercise self-control. By Your Word, I trust in Your blessings of deliverance from my circumstances. In Christ's wonderful name I pray, amen.

PS: Patrick and cell group members, sorry I missed cell meeting this evening because of staying at work later than usual to catch up with unfinished work. Thank you for praying with me together on this.

Psalm 5

While Psalm 4 is said to be written by King David in the evening ("evening psalm"), Psalm 5 is referred by Marilyn Hickey as a "morning prayer" (Marilyn Hickey, "Psalms: Classic Library Edition, 1997, p 19). It marks the day with a prayer in preparation for spiritual battle.

Praying for God's protection from lies spoken against us and families (Psalm 5:6), and from any other weapons formed against us (parallel verse: Isaiah 54:17) is ever more pressing on a daily basis. At the same time, we need to search and purify our hearts, seeking the Lord to reveal any sins in our lives; so that we can change or grow to be more tolerant of others around us.

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous;

you surround them with your favour as with a shield." - Psalm 5:11-12

Heavenly Father, Your Word shows us that spiritual battle is real every day. We need to put on the armour of God every morning because the enemy wants to rob us of every spiritual blessings and joy given by You. I speak against any spirits of self-condemnation, lies, demotivation and arrogance that seek to destroy any relationships with people around me and family. And Lord, I pray for Your hedge of protection upon me, my loved ones and church friends, that indeed "no weapons formed against us shall prosper". In Jesus' name I pray and give thanks, amen.

Lunch with New Friend, Hing Keong

Met an ex-SingTel colleague's friend Hing Keong this afternoon for lunch at Suntec City. Hing Keong happens to be working for Datacraft Singapore at Tower 4, just next to my office tower.

It was a great time for the 2 of us, chatting about our faiths and walk with the Lord. I am sure God delights in Hing Keong's new faith in Him. I also took the opportunity to pray for him in his areas of needs before we parted.

Psalm 4

Psalm 4 is often referred to as an "evening psalm" (Marilyn Hickey, "Psalms: Classic Library Edition", 1997, p 17). Perhaps it's because of verse 8: "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety". How comforting to know that we will have inner peace even when we are faced with insurmountable obstacles in our lives, by resting upon the arms of the Lord and trusting Him to deliver us from those obstacles. For the Lord hears the prayers of His faithful servants, even though we may feel otherwise.

Verse 4 offers a good reminder for us to contain our anger and resolve it before the end of the day: "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent" (also another evidence of it being an "evening psalm"?). Thank you, Lord, for reminding me in Psalm 4:4 for at certain times, I might have let my emotions run throughout the nights. Forgive me and may You cleanse my mind of such negative thoughts every night before bedtime, replacing them with Your inner peace and protection. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Are you a Tigger or Eeyore?

It hasn't been a smooth day at work this morning.

Then during lunch break while surfing the Internet for some information on my research topic, I stumbled upon Randy Pausch's commentary on the Tigger/Eeyore debate in his Last Lecture speech ("Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"), delivered at Carnegie Mellon University on 18 September 2007. Randy is dying of cancer and chooses to live life the positive way. He was quoted: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. I think I'm clear where I stand on the great Tigger/Eeyore debate."

What is so difference about Tigger and Eeyore in life's perspective? Well, Tigger's bouncy and fun nature is contrasted with Eeyore's pessimistic outlook. It is motivating reading Randy's transcript of his speech and that certainly reminded me of God's grace in my life.

PS: Randy, if you happen to read this, ... I pray for Christ's healing touch upon you and that by His stripes, you are healed. In Jesus' name I pray and give thanks, amen!

Psalm 3

"But you are a shield around me, O Lord;

you bestow glory on me and lift up my head." - Psalm 3:3

"Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!" - Psalm 3:7

This chapter reflects David's confident trust in his Saviour despite the insurmountable obstacle before him, that is, to flee from the armies of his own son Absalom. I could almost feel David's pain and torment from the betrayal of his beloved son. The lacuna of such expressions in the psalm does not however, deliminish the peace and comfort it alludes, as our God seeks to reveal His glory and omnipresence here.

And yes, deliverance of our difficult circumstances comes from the Lord when we surrender our lives to Him! (Amen.)

Psalm 2

"... Blessed are all who take refuge in him." - Psalm 2:12

King David, the psalmist for this chapter, reminded me of God's sovereignty and His assurance that no matter how harsh are our circumstances, He promises protection and mercy when we choose to be righteous before Him.

Christ was mentioned as the Messiah here as David prophetically proclaimed His ultimate rule on earth, even when the nations were said to be plotting against the people of God in the end times. As the saying goes, "there is no victory without battles". God has equiped us with His wisdom and strength to handle every circumstance of our lives. His promise to us is that, with an eternal perspective, we will emerge triumphant and become overcomers of adversities in our lives.

Glory be to God, our saviour and friend!

New Year Countdown Party

Our church welcomed the new year with thanksgivings and pomps last night. The queue outside Expo Hall 10 formed even before 8.30pm, and had snaked all the way to Hall 7 when we alighted from the Simei shuttle bus. It's heartening to see old folks from the Chinese congregation joining in the celebrations as well. We decided to leave Nicole at home under the care of our domestic helper in case we stayed on till the wee hours of the celebrations.

Geraldine, with Naomi and Nathan (both dressed up in their GKidz t-shirts) eagerly awaiting the start of the countdown party

The theme for the celebrations was "Warriors of Light" and there was a theme costume competition at the beginning of the event. Naomi and Nathan were thrilled by the characters of Peter Pan, Zorro, Statue of Liberty, an angel, and even Pinocchio on stage! We cheered for Pinocchio to win but the winner went to Peter Pan.

Pastor Melvin Mak led the congregation to ponder upon our thanksgivings for the year and I gathered Daniel Choy to pray for each other. Geraldine and May Ling shared and prayed for each other.

The most heartening segment was the testimonies shared by three Mediacorp artistes. They mentioned their difficulties in reaching out for the loss in the media industry but firmly believed in bringing more unsaved artistes into the family of God. Thank God for them!

Senior Paster Lawrence Khong performed magic tricks after about 11.20pm, much to the delight of the audience. We missed the countdown at midnight as the kids were tired and thank God that we managed to catch one of the last few trains at Expo MRT station and bus at Kallang...

Psalm 1

"For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish." - Psalm 1:6

Marilyn Hickey refers Psalm 1:6 as an example of "antithetic parallelism", or "contrasting thoughts to make its point" (Marilyn Hickey, "Psalms: Classic Library Edition", 1997, pp 5-6). So there is really great emphasis on the study of the Book's structure and composition.

Interestingly, Marilyn used Psalm 1:3 in her autograph on my book. I like the verse because it shows God's promise of fruitfulness and prosperity when we obey and apply God's wisdom. The pre-requisite for His people is to stand by God's Word, that is, to walk in godly counsel and not end up like chaff (or husk of grains) which symbolizes a faithless life.

Patick's Birthday Celebration after Church Service

From left: Shaun, Aileen, Patrick, Alicia, Joseph, John, Sebastian, Edward

Happy birthday, Patrick!