Riches

Lately, I've been receiving lots of verses that riches are not forever and that I shouldn't pursue after riches but after the will of God and God's business.

23 Feb 09 - Ezekiel 27:27

²⁷ “Your riches, wares, and merchandise,

Your mariners and pilots,

Your caulkers and merchandisers,

All your men of war who are in you,

And the entire company which is in your midst,

Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.

22 Feb 09 - Matthew 6:19

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ^20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ^21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

20 Feb 09 - 2 Timothy 2:4

4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

18 Feb 09 - 1 John 2:15

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

15 Feb 09 - Psalms 62

¹⁰ Do not trust in oppression,

Nor vainly hope in robbery;

If riches increase,

Do not set your heart on them.

9 Feb 09 - Luke 2:49

49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

30 Jan 09 - 1 Peter 4:1-2, 19

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ^2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

22 Jan 09 - Proverbs 28

6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity
Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

8 One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion
Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.

11 The rich man is wise in his own eyes,
But the poor who has understanding searches him out.

20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good,
Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.
22 A man with an evil eye hastens after riches,
And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

27 He who gives to the poor will not lack,
But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.

15 Jan 09 - Luke 12

15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”


22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

14 Jan 09 - Psalms 62:10

¹⁰ Do not trust in oppression,

Nor vainly hope in robbery;

If riches increase,

Do not set your heart on them.
(repeated)

12 Jan 09 - Psalms 62

¹⁰ Do not trust in oppression,

Nor vainly hope in robbery;

If riches increase,

Do not set your heart on them.
(repeated)

5 Jan 09 - James 1:11

For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

16 Nov 08 - 2 Kings 12:9

9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the Lord.

I wonder what all these means, maybe God is saying that I should help the poor.

* tRUST & OBey the LORD *

why I'm still a Malaysian

This is who I am, and this is what I do.

Many people wonder why I came back and don't plan to get a PR in Australia anymore. Australia has so many benefits and privileges - shorter working hours, better pay, good weather, higher quality of life, and the list goes on.

Well, this is why I'm still a Malaysian, and will be for a long time:


because Malaysia needs my help

I feel like my country needs my help. This is why I came back – because this is a third world country. I see Australians leaving Australia to help third world countries which they have no relations with, whom they don’t owe anything to, and here I am, going to Australia, leaving behind my country who needs my help, where I grew up and am familiar with, which I call my homecountry.

I went there because Australia could do a lot for me both financially and educationally, but why haven’t I thought about what I can do for my country instead? Malaysia needs my help. Really needs it.

When I went to Australia, I thought like.. "who cares about this darn country? Why should I give anything back to a country who doesn’t even appreciate its Chinese citizens like me? Why should I bother about a country who doesn’t bother about me?" When one of my friends asked me, "if everyone leaves this country, then who will stay to hold the fort?" I just replied, "Who cares about holding the fort?"

But I can change all that. I can change Malaysia. I can make a difference. This country doesn’t have to be a racist country. This country doesn’t have to treat its citizens unfairly. This country could be a great country to live in, but with my help.

because i saw the need

Those who don’t see the need are not obligated to help, but those who can see the need. And I can see it clearly. For me, I see it in many places, but what hits me in my heart is the education system. I saw the need when I was in it and I still see the need when I am already out of it.

because I can be an encouragement

Okay, let’s say I saw the need but didn’t have much to contribute. It doesn’t matter. I could be an encouragement to someone who DOES have something to contribute, who just needs a little encouragement.

I have to admit that making this decision was hard. Nevertheless, when I saw those who had the opportunity like me, to migrate but chose not to because they wanted to 'hold the fort', it was really an encouragement. And every now and then, it is as if I hear them say, "Malaysia has hope. Let's make a difference"

because I'm confident that I could make a difference

But I know that I can make a difference. It is that mindset that makes me think that I am not good enough, let someone else do it. But all the good people have already left. I have what I have and I am here. And I'm going to make full use of it.

Secondly, if I don’t have confidence in myself, I wouldn’t have the motivation that I need to carry it out even if my heart was set on it. I need to be confident that I have something to give. If not, I wouldn't even bother trying.

because there is Someone who could do it alone but chose not to

Helping this country is helping God. It is helping God make this country into the country He want it to be. He can do it alone, and He actually doesn't need my help. But God choose to work with me because that’s the way He prefers to do things. Life is all about having a relationship with God and He wants to do this but He wants us to do it together with him.

I'm sure all of you who have girlfriends would understand this - they want to go out, but they want you to come along because it is all about spending time with you. What's the point of going out alone? No, God doesn't want to do it alone. If God wanted to do everything alone, then what are humans created for? What is this relationship for? We were created so that God wouldn't have to spend eternity alone but with us. We were created so that God won't be lonely. So we must stop neglecting Him - it's making Him really lonely.

because I want to do something that was in God’s heart to do and according to ‘God's plan’

God has a plan – a blueprint for this country. God has something that is in His heart for this country, and I need to find out what it is and carry it out. I talk and sing so much about "doing God's will" but here's where I have to make it real.

because I've realized who I am and I've learned to take up responsibility in the country

I need to know who I am. I am a Malaysian and this is what I do - I need to take up responsibility in this country. I've had enough of denying who I am for who I could become if I took that PR. Enough for the past 1 year.

because this is my country and this is where I belong

This is my country. This is where I belong. I don’t belong anywhere else and that's a fact.

* tRUST & OBey the LORD *

discouragement vs dreams

In this race for time and resources, the feeling of giving up seems inevitable. And the further I go, the stronger the feeling of giving up gets. I think it's discouragement from the devil. It's like the kind of discouragement that Elijah had from Jezebel. It's just when he was about to win the war then this feeling comes and stirs up such emotion that I just feel like I want to drop the whole thing entirely. After graduating from my degree program, the scarce monetary resources available to me prevents my energy from realizing it's true potential. Something this small appears like a huge boulder that is impossible to remove. But all I need is a lever and a little strength to get the ball rolling.

It's nothing but this feelings. I get so hooked on my feelings sometimes. It's like nicotine. It makes me hallucinate in thirst for a lift into a mere fantasy- the perception that life would be easier without drive and force. That the grass is greener on the other side. That I could live my life as a simple being and forget about this ambition, this dream that seems to be directing me to a monetary dead end.

It is so untrue. On the other side, there is no grass. There are no dreams. There are no winners. On the other side, is a bare, dry, empty land, with not a pebble even, in sight. And that land stretches on and on with nothing but barren emptiness and space. Whatever I saw from that other side of the fence was merely a hallucination. And if I don't realize that now, I would be giving up everything for nothing. That's what nicotine does. That's what the feeling of giving up does - it causes hallucinations and the blurriness of one's eyesight. The enemy to the advancement of all human race: to accept life as what they perceive it is. The strive to be comfortable in a barren land, catalyzed by lies that on the other side of their fence is an empty space, where the reverse is true. A place never ventured can only be reached through the perception of another individual- and whatever they perceive of it is whatever it is believed to be. But the source of that perception is unknown, for it could have been mere illusion to begin with. This conceptualizes the final theory that a place never ventured can only be reached through illusion.

Okay, so I was being poetic and metaphoric but that paints the picture of what the feeling of giving up does to destroy my dreams. And because it is so dangerous, I must not feed that feeling. Because today I was just letting myself into hallucinating again and believing that life would be easy for me if I just dropped the whole idea of educational studies and be a pastor on the mission field or a housewife. I can't let go of those hallucinations: that the grass is greener on the other side. I thought I would have more vision there and more enthusiasm for my work. The reverse is true. A place never ventured can only be reached through illusion.

*taken from devo 29th Aug 08

* tRUST & OBey the LORD *

Chinese New Year 2009

Hahahha.. Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Chai... :)

I spent the whole Chinese New Year eating junk food!!!! Biscuits, 'love letters' (its like chinese pan cake), and then in Malaysia, we have something called the 'Yin Sang'. It's this traditional colourful mixture of crackers, sweet stuff, salmon, ginger.. (kind of weird mixture, actually) and we mix it with the chopsticks - everyone mix at the same time. Hahah.. it's a Malaysian Chinese thing. I heard they just introduced that in Hong Kong.

CNY is kinda weird, though.. without ebbie and Joey.. hmm.. anyway, morning breakfast was at 9am.. I woke up at 8.30.. wake up so early then whole day nothing to do.. LOL.

We started off First Day Morning with Dad's cooking - Western Breakfast. Hahaha.. no, you wouldn't dare imagine that for Chinese New Year!

We had German Sausages, scrambled eggs, hash brown, bulls eye, ham, bacon.. needless to say the rest. Kinda looks like red meat, no? But it was nice! Whatd'you expect? It's dad's cooking!!!

After that, they played the Wii.. but Jie and I spent time chatting and munching while watching some really weird chinese show on tv. It's like they kept cutting it! And the girl said something like.. "Who wants to see me take off my clothes? If you want me to take off my clothes, kill the king!!!!" Swt, la.. really.. And after that I was like.. this NTV7.. useless, la.. keep cutting.. suddenly here then suddenly there... no need war, the fight ended de.

Then we played the strategy game.. I Won the first round!! And then the next day, I won another 3 times ^^ And we played again and again until like 3am.. hahahahahahahah

The second day only I visited my godparents.. haha.. and you know what? This year, I discovered from them... SHANDY! ahahha.. nice!!! Yes, I've never drank shandy before this! NO KIDDING

I had lots of Ang Pao's too.. but I realized that the older I get, the less angpaos.. :( I only collected 2 Ang Pao's from church this year! That's the lowest collection I've had ever!! Oh, and you know what? The best Ang Pao packets are Mecca's. On the left is last years'. This years one was similar (on the right). That time I ask Aunty Paulyn to help me take some from McDs because she works there.. mana tau, she came back with like 50 Packets or so.. LOL! And the whole CNY, I only got 1.. how sad..

Oh, forgot to say - first day of CNY.. sick! Yea.. woke up too early.. caught a cold. You know it was soooo cold here? Air cond, mah.. like all of you balik kampung hot hot, meh? No la.. where got? Here shivering cold.

Oh, and you recognize this? Maybe the really old people would! This was what gas drinks were before Can Drinks came out - they were all in bottles! Puny bottles!!! And YES, there IS gas still inside! If anyone wants to buy from me, please place your order! ;) It's only RM1.50 each!!! Ahahah... And you can keep the glass.. but if you wanna give the glass back, I can give you back 20cents! ^^ Theres Ice Cream Soda, Sarsi and Ginger Beer! But order must be minimum 20 bottles :)

Oh, and Mom, Andrew and I made Chocolate Brownies for CNY! ahaha.. tasted so nice^^ And we played Congkak, the wooden stacko thingy and Dominos. Andrew and I also went CNY shopping.. or rather.. I.. LOL.. he bought his short pants and I bought a RM29 blouse which was so NOT red. It was like.. pale yellow.. but the material so nice and then I needed Andrew to teach me how to wear it (dont ask!) I was like *opens changing room door* "I DONT KNOW HOW TO WEAR!!!" and then he was like.. "errrrrrrrrrr..." *triple swt*

Caleb's Mom made a lot of CNY cookies and tit bits! Hahaha.. we were sharing biscuits in church!

As you know.. I'm back in Malaysia and I don't think I would be getting a PR in Australia anymore. I think I'll settle here. My parents just flew to Australia again this morning to pay a visit to Ebbie. Debbie is here with me in Malaysia with her whole family. They aren't planning to get a PR in Australia either.

Life here is good. I miss my friends and family here. I'm currently working part-time at my mom's Educenter and studying a short course part time to get the licensing to open a day care center here. Hopefully, when I finish this short course, I can continue my Master's in Education.

Talking about my master's program, I just got my results not too long ago :) I had 2As and 1B.. hehe.. 3 subjects altogether! It is the first time I scored so well. I got 75 for my B. That's almost an A!! haha.. I think Education is really meant for me because I've never gotten 70 or above for anything when I did my business degree here. Glory be to God!

PS: And you know what? the only person who wore red in my family was me.. shhhhHHH...

Looking forward to seeing you with kids,
Anna

* tRUST & OBey the LORD *