L.i.f.E.?

I was searching for the meaning of life and when I came to Christ, that nagging question within me was quietened. But the difference was, I had the peace of not knowing what the ultimately purpose of my life was. It was a matter of a split second. How could that be?

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Jesus is the life. On hindsight, when I accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour, I had met life and so the question was answered with His person!

John 10:9-11 Jesus said "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

Jesus came to die for those who are dead in their sins. No amount of good deeds can assure us a place in heaven. No magnitude of good intent of the heart can keep us from death and hell. All that we do profit us nothing because it is only through the works of the cross by Jesus, that we may be redeemed. It is the great exchange: sickness for health; poverty for prosperity; death for life beginning from the point of salvation through to eternity. #nelle#

A Chasing Of The Wind?

Quotable quote by Proust: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes."

So you feel like you've been going in circles in your relationship with certain individual(s), specific situations, or perhaps life on the whole! And you think changing landscapes - a new workplace, a new country of work, a new role etc. - would turn things around. I was there once.

Just around the age of 25, I thought, "Singapore is boring. I got to be out there somewhere experiencing life and living it to the fullest!" For clarity sake, I wasnt in a ditch then. In fact, I liked my job at that time; was surrounded by great people and everything was going real smooth yet, something felt missing...

I wondered, "Is this all there is to life? Is this what the rest of my life would be like? Sure, I can go on like that but it seems so... pointless! What's this all for and about?" I shared these thoughts with a few close friends but no one understood what I was feeling nor could they comprehend why I was thinking such. The older folks however would comment, "Why are you thinking this thought at such a young age? Now that Im coming to my 50s am I beginning to question this." No one had a constructive response to my query.

Since no one could advise me any better, I depended on my own "wisdom". I got all geared up, applying for employment overseas; counting my costs and ended up joining a world-reknown firm that has extremely strong cross-geographic mobility programs. Literally, the world is my opportunity! My prospects were good but the role didnt turn out the way I thought it to be.

14 months down the road, a fresh opportunity arose and in the new place of work, something unexpected happened - I came to know the Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. The conversion to Christianity brought me to an inward realisation that I had been chasing after the wind. Overnight, Singapore became the best place to be in this season of my life. How is it possible?

The truth about a life worth living; a life of excitement and discovery is NOT in a new landscape. Yes, I know the truth can hurt, folks but the truth liberates! Let me reiterate the quote by Proust: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes."

To have new eyes means to have a new (or rather, change of) heart. So the secret to a life worth living is in the renewing of our mind; a fresh pair of eyes; a heart re-ignited by our original passion. It is believing, seeing and achieveing an infallible vision! My eyes are fixed on Jesus. He is my life-adventurer leader and the firm establisher of my visions, dreams and hopes!

How can I be so sure? Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) spells it very clearly for me (and for you, really!) and God's words never return to Him void:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

You too can be a receiver of this promise by coming to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. #nelle#

Who Do I Listen To? What Should I Do?!

A story went as such...

An old man, a little boy, and a donkey were heading towards a faraway city. As they started off on their journey, after awhile, both the old man and the little boy got tired. So they both rode on the donkey at the same time.

As they passed the first village, people were looking at them with consternation, whispering to each other, "Look at how cruel that man and boy is, both riding the poor donkey, how tired that donkey must be". The old man felt ashamed, so he got down from the donkey and let the little boy ride on the donkey.

As they passed the second village, people were looking at them angrily, whispering to each other, "Look how disrespectful that boy is, riding on the donkey while the poor old man walked all this way on his own tired feet". Not wanting people to think ill of the little boy, the old man trade places, so that he rode on the donkey while the little boy walked on foot.

As they passed the third village, people were looking at them and frowned, whispering to each other, "Look how irresponsible that old man is, riding on the donkey while the poor little boy walked all this way on his tired little feet". Having gotten enough of the villagers' criticisms, both the old man and the little boy walked on their own, with their donkey following behind them.

Their walk was long, their shoes became torn and worn, their clothes dusty and dirty. Both looked very tired and are about to pass out at any moment. When they finally reached the city, people were looking and laughing at them and smirking, whispering to each other, "Look at the two foolish beggars, they have a donkey and yet do not ride it..instead of riding the donkey to save themselves some energy, they are suffering because of their foolishness."

Someone's bound to have something to say about everything, anything you do. The way to handle feedback is not to simply follow it. It is to assess the feedback and view it as a new piece of information that was outside of your initial considerations. What validity and relevance does it have for what you are looking to achieve?

Do not be swayed by words of just anybody but be moved by words of wisdom. The source of information and it's practicality to you and your situation is what counts to the reliability of words that are worthy of your further thoughts.

Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

Ecclesiastes 9:13 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.

#nelle#