THE WOMAN'S CURSE (kudos to michelle lee)

chagall

GEN 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
GEN 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
GEN 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
and so it came to pass that mankind fell from grace, from Eden to the reality that we, the descendants of adam and eve exist in today. michelle lee raised the value of this little passage of the curse, and i just thought that i'd add on to some of the things she mentioned, which i found very compelling.

imagine what each of the three accused parties must have felt as they stood before the Lord in judgement, upon reflection of their deeds. the serpent must have been pretty smug, amused and almost gleeful. as an agent of Satan, or perhaps Satan himself, nothing gave him greater delight than to hurt the King by forcing the Him to disown those He so dearly loved and treasured. any price would have been worth it for that snake, and he would have revelled in his misdeeds. after all, he had already been cast out of heaven once- he had lost his paradise, and now Man, Woman and God Himself would suffer the same fate he had.

for adam and eve, as the jewel of GOd's creation, the apple of His eye, they doubtlessly felt guilty, which was an awkward feeling to have probably, because they had never felt anything like sin or guilt. imagine the worst thing you've ever done- the dilating pupils, sweaty palms, heart palipitations, anxiety attacks and fear running amock and multiply that by 100 for the first man and woman's first guilty moment. adam was probably feverishly ill with worry and fear, unsure of what was to happen to him with god's punishment. adam was awaiting the first punishment ever. at the same time, he was probably mad at eve. hurt by her "betrayal" and ashamed of his own weakness, frustrated with his own greediness and trust in the woman and the serpent, he was no doubt, mad at his wife. similarly for eve, as she glared with fierce anger at the serpent, thinking of all the equivocation and justifications for herself, trying desperately to think of what to say to god to get herself and adam out of trouble.

god on the other hand, in His omniscience, probably knew all this and more. in His heart, there probably would have been nothing but infinite sorrow. traditionally, although we consider god as a Legislator and a Rule-Maker and Enforcer of the Law, almost as if He had no feelings of His own. perhaps one could reconsider the character of God. Here, God was also a hurt Father, a spurned Lover, one who had graciously poured out everything in love only to have everything slammed in His face. God was the sole victim of Man's sin. no wonder it makes sense when david cries out in psalm 51 "against you, and you only have i sinned," imagine the immense grief on the part of the Creator.


the curses upon the serpent don't leave much for discussion. instead, this writeup will consdier the implications of the curse upon the Woman upon the lives of women, and mankind at large.

for the woman, she was cursed threefold. firstly, she would have to suffer great pain in childbearing.
secondly, she would have an endless desire over her husband, and he would rule over her.
thirdly, she would live to see her children suffer the enmity of the serpent, both in the natural world and the unseen spiritual world. let me work through thoughts on each of these.

firstly, as much as the physical pain of childbearing would leave the woman with deep memory of her sin and role in original sin, we remember that the pain implied in birth was a cost for the woman in bringing forth life and continuation of the human race. in a metaphorical sense, wasn't this exactly what god experienced in bringing forth life to man? that as he "brought us forth", we did nothing but cause Him pain? the curse perhaps, was a ppainful reminder of the cost of sin, and the experience that god had in bringing each one of us forth. as much as we associate god with paternal imagery, we should remember that god has no assigned gender. however, as the one who formed us in our mother's wombs individually (psalm 139), it was His labour that we were brought from nothingness into being. and it is to His suffering account taht we charge our sins to, much like the pain that follows a mother throughout the life of her child when the child is wayward. likewise, our heavenly father is the same.

secondly, the longing of woman for her husband. as the seemingly "responsible" culprit for original sin, the tension in the man-woman relationship would forever be tainted. no more could man put complete trust in his co-labourer naturally anymore, and in his heart, the seeds of contempt and blame were taking root, even until today. doubtlessly, this feeds into modern day life, as we consider the idea that "hell hath no fury like a woman spurned", recognising the immense capacity for the woman especially for jealousy and possessiveness (quote michelle lee,) perhaps it would help our sisters if they learnt what they had been made significantly vulnerable to.

thirdly, the woman would have to suffer as a mother sees her child born with a enemy in the form of the serpent, a predator in the natural world, but worse, as a spritual adversary in the moral world. the bible speaks of the devil as a "waiting lion" stalking its prey and waiting to pounce. indeed, when god condemned the serpent to be the enemy of the woman's offspring, it was surely more than a natural enemy. we have always been enemies with the evil one, and we were born to struggle against his advances. and yet, genesis 4:7 says, "...sin is crouching at your door..it desires to have you, but you must master it"

JACOB VERSUS ESAU IN THE ARENA OF WIFE SELECTION

GEN 28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
GEN 28:2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
GEN 28:6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman,"
GEN 28:7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.
GEN 28:8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac;
GEN 28:9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Here we have a little account of the conditions under which Jacob left home in search of his wife-to-be, and came back with 2 times wife i.e. Rachel and Leah plus 2 times maidservants, and 13 sons by them. Now I'm trying to rack my brains to come up with something useful for this little account, and it's fairly difficult to not be totally obscure. I don't want to be superficial with this little account and come up with something ridiculous like God doesn't want us to marry foreign women, but i do believe there's something spiritual that we can make of this account.

Esau, despite being the older brother, firstborn and favoured by his father had already lost his birthright and his blessing- a twofold loss by the time this account presents itself in chapter 28 of the book of genesis. At this point, the Book makes a clear distinction between the two sons, and the directions they were to take. Esau, robbed/bereft of his birthright, was married to two canaanite women, whom rebekah refers to as "driving her to her grave" as it were, so much so that she begged isaac to send jacob away to get a wife. Esau, clearly the non-favoured one by now, was really making mom angry. jacob, by contrast, now in possession of his mother's favour, the birthright sold to him over a bowl of stew and his father's blessing, by way of his craftiness, seemed to be the now favoured in the eyes of the Lord, was pretty much poised to be successful, it seems.

imagine his surprise then, when his father bid him to leave home and travel to his distant relative's home, a relative whom he probably had never seen his entire life. jacob always struck me as a gentle man, a Sensitive New Age Guy type. the bible refers to him as a "man of the tents" in contrast to his rugged older brother. perhaps he had never left home? it wouldn't be hard to imagine a scrawny jacob, somewhat bookish and more gentle than his brother, and literally a "momma's boy". having to travel to search for a wife might not have been the easiest thing for the "man of the tents"

i do believe that in a metaphorical sense, the man of god had to go in obedient search for the woman god had intended for him. he was literally sent on a pilgrimage to find his wife. imagine- it would have been so much more convenient for him to to be like his brother, a man of self gratificiation, to marry a local woman- a canaanite woman. but god had plans for him to leave home and search, and subsequently struggle for the woman he was meant to be with. (c.f. jacob working 14 years to earn rachel's hand in marriage) but jacob was meant to struggle and search for the right woman, in accordance to the directions and boundaries established by his parents. the verses in the above make it clear that jacob was to choose a wife from a select group of women- women of his same god-fearing heritage i.e. his family. as a point of reflection: have we limited our selection choice to the persons who fear god, and share the same spiritual heritage as we do? or instead do we open up the scope of selection to anyone who comes our way?


i can't help but think also, of the reference in genesis that describes isaac when he came out of the fields to see rebekah coming home with jacob's servant. the bible notes that he was busy with his "meditations". and i always wonder- what WAS he meditating on? perhaps praying for that potential mate? how apt it was that the man of god was meditating on the thoughts of god when his life partner appeared- a companion and co-labourer jsut as eve was to adam.
(GEN 24:63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.)
regardless, he, like jacob, had a woman specially intended for him and meant for him and him alone.

jacob was sent out by his parents, perhaps another learning point for us- that our mates should ideally be pre-approved by our god-placed authorities who know us, and care for us, and have been empowered with godly wisdom and experience to discern what our youth and emotions sometimes blind us from seeing. godly counsel from parents is indeed, invaluable and important, and it is EVEN more important, in a NIKE generation like ours, to abide by those rules and instructions that have been put in place over us by our parents, whom god in turn has commanded us to obey in love.

by contrast to both his brother and father, esau, married 2 canaaanite women, in disregard for the holy discretion and separateness of god's select, instead welcoming the almost pagan and non-god-fearing customs and cultures into his life and family. if he had truly desired to marry, he too, could have gone in search of one whom his parents and God would have approved, but just as he sold his birthright to fill his instant hunger, he too, traded it for instant gratification, in accordance with his modus operandi. interestingly enough, esau tried subsequently to "make up" for his mistake by marrying the daughter of his uncle ishmael, in attempt to earn his parents favour, as the verses 6-9 in chapt28 indicate for us. to esau, the issue of a wife was not having the single life partner with which to share the god-given institution of marriage with. to esau, a wife was a commodity, and if it was the wrong one he had, all he had to simply do, was try again.

doesn't this aptly represent the men and women of today? we view relationships as trial and error, as games, as an elimination system of seeing what will please our parents and social conventions without truly asking and considering, who has god intended to be the one special person we were meant to share everything with. truly, we should be cautious in learning from esau's example; who quickly dropped out of favour with god and his parents for his foolishness and seeking the easy way out.

in conclusion, this may seem like i'm kicking up a big fuss over nothing. but friends, let us consider the value and importance of having a mate, a life-partner with whom we are to stick with through thick and thin, till death do us part. let's pray for the right person god has for us, not who we WANt selfishly, lest we deny ourselves the blessings of being in His favour, and displease Him with our wilful disobedience. perhaps a point to ponder upon.

-a prayer-
dearest lord Jesus,
you have the greatest foresight anyone could ever have. throughout the history of the bible you've empowered kings to see into the future through dreams and predictions, enabled men of god to interpret dreams and visions. Lord, you know the future, both the macro future of the world at large, and the micro future of a man such as me.
you said in Your Word lord, that you have plans for us all, for each one of your children who call you Abba, Father. in jeremiah 29:11 and in psalm 139 you make it so clear that in your grand plan, you have pre-ordained, or that you know whatt lies ahead in the unknown days of tomorrow.

lord, i believe that you have someone planned for me to be with someday, that the affairs of companionship and of a mate are in your hands, and YOurs hands alone. there are so many times god, when I want to rely on the self and make decisions based on impulse, that may make me happy for now, but will not do so in the long run. please give me faith to trust you, to believe in you. sometimes lord, the spirit is willing but the flesh is so weak. that as much as we want to trust you for taht one life-partner, it's incredibly difficult. dear jesus, pls teach me to trust you and have faith to see beyond the pressures of this world which call us to get attached NOW and look for the best looking, coolest persons around who make us feel good about ourselves and teh world we live in.

Lord, you have a plan for each one of us, and you only have the best in store for us. even if it means being single forever like paul, i want to believe that that is YOUR plan for my life, so that i can best serve you. i consecrate myself into your service, and offer you everything i have. be the Lord of my life in all areas, including my lovelife and emotional life. make me a pure vessel for your purposes only. i want to trust in you lord, show me how.
in jesus' name,
Amen.

a fool for Christ

dear friends, please put up with this little ramble. call it a desperate man's cry into the still dark night that is cyberspace, but this is my struggle.

I Corinthians 1:25-29 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.NIV

when Jesus came into my life, He made all new things new. where once I was a captive to sin and death, trapped in the confinement of my own desires, Jesus set me free. before I met the Saviour, I was an average Singaporean, in search for the latest trends and fads. my concerns were of the right grades, the right girls, the right friends, the right schools, the right image- but never of what made the right things Right.

now, although my life isn't completely refurnished and perfected, the promise has been made that He is not finished with me yet. where once i thought i was wise, i find myself now a fool for Christ. the things that i do, the ridiculous things that earn me mocking and humiliation in the eyes of the world, i recognise to be manifestations of the cross i have to bear.

so maybe i'm playing this little "holy masquerade" in saintly pretense, masochistically denying myself the "goodies" of this world and suppressing my true desires and longings for pleasure and gratification, for the right to feel good about myself. perhaps in that sense, i truly am a fool.

no one said that being a fool was easy.

but Lord, surely you know that this is my offering to you? surely you know that this is my love offering to you when i said "i give you my life", i didn't want to make an empty promise? Lord, you have assured us in your word, that your folly is wiser than man's wisdom anyday, and that you chose the foolish thing that i am in order to shame the wise of this world. Sometimes, it is hard to see this as true in daily life, when Satan's illusions seem so real and attractive. give me faith to see beyond this mortal flesh, that my spiritual eyes be opened to the knowledge of your truth, a truth that is unwavering and immutable.

Lord, your resources are boundless and your love, so unselfish and generous. please have mercy upon my mind and my soul. you know of the suffering and the torment; please, in your time, send deliverance and give aid. father, i think of Your promises to comfort the broken hearted and set the captive free. please keep to your word in Your mercy and and grant faith to those who need it so desperately. when my faith hangs by a thread, make that thread the most secure lifeline, that i do not plummet into faithlessness and doubt, but help me to trust You. teach me to trust You. show me how to trust You.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.

LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND AND LOOKING AHEAD WITH FAITH

this is going to be a very general sketch based on the account of lot's wife looking back in contrast to abraham looking forward with God into the future. (i don't usually open this way? but just felt like it,)

Genesis 12:1-4

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

Genesis 19:15-23

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"

18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, [b] please! 19 Your [c] servant has found favor in your [d] eyes, and you [e] have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."

21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. [f] )

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Abraham responded in faith to God's instruction to look to the future. God had pulled him out of nowhere and just said, "hey abram, i'm gonna mess up the order of your life and give you a new name. just go where i tell you okay?" note that god never did tell abraham where He wanted him to go and why. He simply said, go- and abraham got up and went. everyday abraham was away from home, i speculate that he must've been thinking- this is crazy, i should juust return to Haran and go home, back to the simple way of life that i once had. everyday he was outside wandering or travelling waas a day in adventure with god- each day in a foreign land had to be justified to himself and his family, that his hearing of god's voice was genuine and not imagined or self-construed. each day was an adventure of faith, a challenge which to many of us, we would see as crazy. in contrast, the simplicity and unembellished manner in which the genesis-writer describes the account adds to the reader's impression of an unquestioning obedience by abraham. it seems, at the most, that he was too dumbstruck to even think- he just went. when god comes along in that direct a way telling you to go somewhere that He's not going to tell you about, basically saying, hey! trust me for every single day, it's an adventure with me, and the reward is immeasurable- what will you do?

will you step forth bravely into this new stage of life with god, destination unknown, for the promise of His rewards as a show of your worship and obedience? or would you grouse when you can't see the immediacy of those rewards? abraham had to wait a very long time for his obedience to bear fruit. or would you doubt each time you saw an obstacle? would you cave into your friends who laughed at your crazy migration? would you fold at the mocking and resentment of your family, who being thet closest to you, end up doubting your faith and trust in God? would you rationalise the cost and expense of the journey and sell all your assets, putting your security in human financial systems or risk all in god's great adventure? would you take all you had with you, or leave some behind, just in case- so you have a place to return to? would you tell Him, god i'm too old! abraham was 75! WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF HE CALLED YOU TODAY?

lot's wife on the other hand, represents the direct opposite of this. upon the destruction of sodom and gomorrah and teh judgement of god's righteous anger against the sinful city, she found it hard to leave her home, her place of comfort, even though god clearly, via angelic witness, provided for lot's escape. never mind that her home was the word where we derive the word for the horrific act of "sodomy"- literally, it was Sin City. she had lived there a long time, doubtlessly, and had a way of life- her friends, family, loved ones- her clubs and societies, her neighbourhood, etc, etc. she had something to look back to. despite god's grace and mercy in saving her in additon to her daughters and husband, and His clear instruction not to look back, her moment of doubt and longing for the comfortable did her in in God's eyes. there was nothing wrong with looking back per say, but that look represented a variety of things. 1.) she was in direct violation of angelic instruction, which was effectively, disobeying god directly. 2.) it represented a moment of turning from her god-directed destination, a longing for a sinful alternative to god's deliverance. in effect, her moment of doubtwas a wavering back towards a sinful and carnal world. 3.) it represented a distrust in god for a better salvation and deliverance- she doubted the blessing of god in deliverance and a better future which god had planned out for her and her family.

the account of lot's wife is a grave warning to all of us whom jesus has provided a way out for. if we think strictly speaking, we should all be like the sinners of sodom and gomorrah, destroyed and extinguished. however, we were saved, each one of us, into a life of deliverance BY GRACE. we do not deserve our salvation, hence we owe Him our worship! one recalls teh old sunday song/hymn, "i have decided to follow jesus, no turning back, no turning back". 1 John 2:15 declares the irreconcilability of the christian pledged to Him with the world, "do not love the world or anything in it, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." It is difficult to not look back on the ways of the world, but Jesus has called us into a glorious future with Him, and a promise that life will never be the same again. do not look back onto that life of sin, for the consequences are devastating and are too much for us to bear. lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt. the consequences for us who have entered into a new convenant in His blood, are much more severe.

let us look forward into the glorious future with faith and trust, seeing beyond human eyes into the realm of the impossible with Jesus, and not look back, with even teh slightest doubt on the life of sin that we were called to leave behind. it is said that "change is always uncomfortable". indeed, this is true, but if god called us to change, He has His purposes and reasons, and He has a better plan designed for us AHEAD. do not look back- respond to His calls with grateful obedience and trust for the future! =)

god HAS called you out of darkness into this light of purpose, are you looking back?

ON PRAYER

what is the point of prayer? why do we pray? is there really a point to praying?

there are two arguments which seemingly stand in diammetric opposition to each other. the first states that our prayers can move god to act and change His mind. this is clearly so in the genesis account of abraham bargaining with god on the destruction of sodom and gomorrah. in the new testament, john 15:7 says, "if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you." and again in psalms 37:4 "delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" seemingly, we can influence the sovereign will of god. and secondly, a pessimistic view which states that god's predetermination of all these things mean that we our predefined destinies allow us no room to choose and maneouvre. however, i would prefer not to confuse this argument with arguments of predestination versus free will, because they ARE very closely interlinked. but fundamentally, the problem is this, "is there any point in praying if god has already decided?"

the bible says that prayer is most importantly, commanded by god and sanctioned as a necessity for the christian in daily living. jesus Himself took crucial time off to pray before major events in His life, communing with His heavenly father before facing the challenges of humanity and taught His disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer. for that reason alone, it is necessary. it is also taught that prayer is only effective insofar as one prays within the will of God, which is revealed in His word. for instance, one central tenet holds that God desires for our growth in Him and to forge a stronger relationship with Him, for that is the duty of man. to pray a similar prayer would definitely fall in the will of GOd.

often, it is not the answered prayer that man seeks, but simply a sense of peace in the knowledge that all things work out well in the final. most of us, in difficult situations, are tormented intially by the pain of circumstances, but even more so, the thought of "what do i do now??" the lack of foresight in these problems leads us to turn to God in desperation as we plead with Him to solve our problems for us. Jeremiah 29:11 states clearly that god has His plans for us, which are for our benefit, if anything, albeit the present may be painful and too much to bear. the circumstances are as they are meant to be, although in the human mind, the mental furniture can be rearranged to create a different perspective and viewing of the situation. we need to remove the pain from our perspectives, which limit us to see things from a hurting myopic sufferer's point of view to that of God's achronological, alinear master plan, which has nothing but good things planned out for us who call ourselves His children and beneficiaries.

philipians 4:6-7, the most commonly referred to verse on prayer, reads as follows, "do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to god. and the peace of god, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus". the bible promises here, god's portion of surpassing peace, which the mind fails to comprehend and grasp. we dont understand WHY we feel peaceful when we pray, but God simply sends to us what we need, the assurance to rest. contrary to belief, we don't really want the situations of difficulty and problems to be resolved instantaneously with a snap of god's fingers because the implications and consequences remain. we really want god's peace in our lives.

in the bible, after elijah performed his miracle of calling down fire from heaven, one expects him to be on a spiritual high. and yet, he was led by the SPirit of GOd into the wilderness where he sat under a broomtree and hoped to die. in his moment of need and desperation, god ministered to him and told hiim simply to eat and rest. in our moments of desperation, god calls to us through our own prayers and brings us that peace that He has promised. this is a promise that we CAN CLAIM with power and confidence because many of us do indeed know phil4:6-7 by heart and now, understand what it means.

pray away.

IN YOUR ANGER, DO NOT SIN

JOB 20:12"Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,
JOB 20:13 though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,
JOB 20:14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.
JOB 20:15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up.
JOB 3:26 I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."

when we are weak, and vulnerable, that is when the temptation to sin is probably the strongest. on a normal day, we find oureselves living lives of resistance to sin, which as Paul says, is our flesh's natural desire, and virtually fighting a defensive war against teh lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. (1 john 2:15-16) the only reason why we don't sin, is because we choose not to, resisting urges because we are reminded, by either sign, show or symbol that our allegiance is to Christ, and that sin breaks His heart, no matter how gratifying it may be to the flesh.

however there are moments when we fall. and when we do fall, it is the hardest to stand up again.

in addition, when we feel that god has wronged us- when our anger is directed at He who orchestrates all the affairs of life, we find ourselves frustrated and helpless before a God who, as He Himself declares in Job 38-40, commands powers beyond human imagination. our minds cry out to us in bitterness in the words of Job's wife, "curse GOd and die!" and stop clinging to our fruitless piety and wasted holiness. at that point, Job speaks of the evil which is sweet in the sufferer's mouth. yet, the gratification of the self in these moments of anguish and frustration with god, which effectively symbolises a rebellious spirit in rejection of God is nothing more than self-destruction and sccarring of the self.

in all the irony that i'm writing of this right now, when we undergo all the pain and suffering that life dictates we must, god has two possible intentions- punishment or forcing growth. both instances have the potential to be growth inducing, simply that they sit on different lines of the fence of being "right" with god, or not. let me explain. if we're not right with Him, His "education" for us is punishment, forcing us to get on the other side of the line. however, if we ARE right with Him, as Job was, what then is His point? it simply is, to get us closer to Him, to mould us into the people He wants us to be. but in either case, we're moving UPWARDS on the "growth with God" measurement. it's all part of the master plan.

in other words, our rebellion in sin simply serves to devastate God's intentions for growth and learning for us, when we isolate and detach ourselves from His influence and intimacy. hence, in our anger and frustration with God, which are by no means sinning in and of themselves- we become vulnerable to sin, which we must prevail over. the Bible declares in Genesis,
Gen 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

in your anger,do not sin

a word from my mom...

Mission Before Mate

Those of us of a certain vintage will remember that in our college years, we were told that in the matter of choosing a life partner, we must follow this rule: mission before mate.

In other words we had to be first clear as to what God wanted us to do with our lives. Then, we had some handle in choosing a life partner because the right life partner would be one who would be committed to a similar vocation and thereby able to assist us in pursuing that mission.

In those days, if you were a guy you assumed that the lady would be taking care of the house and raising the kids, to free you to do your thing. And then you discovered that not all the ladies interpreted the life partner rule quite in the same way.

In any case, mission before mate was a tough rule to follow because few of us at 19 knew what our life mission was.

We had no clue as to what God wanted us to do with our lives. Meanwhile our hormones were raging. And then there were those hunks/babes?

Well, with the hindsight of age fifty, more marital adventures than I had ever counted on, and a fresh reading of Genesis 1 and 2, I have to say, what do you know, those speakers at our College fellowships were right. It is mission before mate.

In the Genesis Chapter 2 account of the creation of man for example, we see that three things define Adam's life:

1. Vocation --- He is to work the garden and care for it. (V.15)

2. Provision --- God generously provides for all Adam's needs. He can eat from all the trees of the garden except one. (V.16)

3. Prohibition --- God gives Adam a clear warning. There is one tree from which Adam must not eat. (V.17)

It is in this context of Vocation, Provision and Prohibition that God announces that it is not good for man to be alone. (V.18)

You may ask why does God wait until this point to point out that Adam needs a Eve. Why didn't He just make them man and woman from the word go. I like Bruce Waltke's explanation. He believes that Adam must discover for himself his incompleteness:

"Adam must realize that it is not good to be alone. Rather than squandering his most precious gift on one who is unappreciative, God waits until Adam is prepared to appreciate the gift of the woman." (GENESIS, 89)

However it is also clear that the woman is to be an equal partner that enters into the man's experience of vocation, provision, and prohibition. Together, the man-woman partnership is to carry out God's task of caring for creation, enjoying God's generosity, and resisting sin.

"? the 'helper' is an indispensable 'partner' (REB) required to achieve the divine commission." (Kenneth A. Matthews, GENESIS 1 - 11:26, 214)

I have heard many sermons on marriage from Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. Most focus on the companionship dimension of marriage, on the 'wow" of Chapter 2 v.23. I believe that the book of The Song of Songs shows that God endorses romantic and sexual love.

But still, the "wow" has a context, the context of vocation, provision, and prohibition.

Therefore when one is considering a potential life partner, it would make sense to ask:

1. Is this person committed to God and His purposes? Can I forge a partnership with him/her to do God's work, however that is defined for us?

2. Does this person understand the faithful provision of God? Can we go through life in faith and trust, pointing out to each other the generous care of God? Can we go through life with hearts of gratitude?

3. Is this person committed to a life of holiness? Can we be used by God to help one another resist the assaults of Satan, the world and the flesh?

Of course the prior thing to do is to check if we ourselves are people like that. Am I committed to God and His purposes? Am I aware of God's faithful care and have a grateful heart? Am I actively resisting sin in my life?

You may say, boy it is tough enough to find a potential life partner. If you throw in all these qualifications, I'll never find a warm body to share my life!

What to do?
This is God's Word.
Do you trust Him enough to supply a life partner if it is His will?

Besides what are the alternatives? The many unhappy marriages you see around you? The ever-increasing number of broken marriages? I often wonder how many of those marriages could have been saved if there had been greater sensitivity to the issues of vocation, provision and prohibition.

Some of us are married already and like many, entered into marriage with little spiritual education. Nobody told us the biblical teaching on marriage. What should we do now?

Start building the marriage according to God's purposes! Start structuring your marriage around vocation, provision, and prohibition. You may discover a real revival in your marriage and even a return of the "wow"!

What about those who are single?
We must believe that God loves us more than we love ourselves and that if it is in His will for us to be married He will bring the right person at the right time.

In the meantime, we can continue to build our lives around the themes of vocation, provision, and prohibition. We do need significant others in our lives. We seek out good friends, soul mates, brothers and sisters who are also committed to walking the path of vocation, gratitude, and holiness.

We live in a fallen world. Even marriages entered into with the best of intentions, may fall apart. When such tragedies happen we need to come alongside people to help them rebuild their lives.

But we should also seek out ways to help people experience marriage as it was meant to be. And I do believe the manufacturer's instructions talks about marriage as a partnership for doing God's work, enjoying God's blessings, and obeying God's Word.

So yes, boys and girls, it is mission before mate.

hungry, i come to you

i don't know where to begin. i'm posting in the most difficult of times for me, and i dont know what to say, what to shape, what to craft to best represent how i feel or how i'm thinking right now. so i'll do the unthinkable i guess- i'll put it out in point form, what i've learnt from my time at home in singapore.

1.) god works in mysterious ways- sometimes heartbreaking. but if the the child does not fall, he cannot walk. and it grieves the father to let the child stumble.

2.) god puts those of distinction through the grind for moulding and refinement. if life were easy, everybody would be anybody. refinement and sanctification are for the select.

3.) in your anger, do not sin. whether in lust with the eyes, or in tongue with curses, or your feet in walking to places of impurity, or your ears to be lent to counsel of the foolish, or the hands to self-destruction

4.) nothing can be done by your own strength alone. all things are by Him and His power. conversely, if anything seems to fail, it is not your "failure" but His sovereignty at work allowing it to fail for NOW. his plans are long term and our eyes cannot see them

5.) loving someone means taking yourself out of the picture sometimes, and letting god do the surgery of the heart in His time.

6.) we should not be afraid to go to our parents and friends who love us for Godly comfort because like the progidal father, Christian love is all-embracing, and bears no record of wrongs. love never fails.

7.) prayer is very important- we acknowledge the Lordship of God in our lives and his relational role as the one who is concerned about us. the same way we approach our bathroom with the intention of being clean even though our bath may not be squeaky clean of all dirt, the intention of going to our loving God in conversation-prayer is glorifying to Him enough. after all, He has all thiings planned, what then is the point of our supplication, if not to acknowledge his role in our lives?

8.) the Word of God is very real. and the power of its truth is really scary. treat it not with contempt but with reverence. in times of rest and peace, study your bible so that the day of adversity will not take you and the Evil ONe will not defeat you with false truths and lies

9.) fellowship and support from your spiritual brothers in Christ is paramount. Christ's love is revealed when He commanded us to love one another as He loved us. support one another in love and cover each other with prayer. empathise and feel for each other, that the world may see a strong community at work- the body of Christ triumphant against the bitterness and pain of this world. how sweet it is to see brothers living in unity!

10.) we all need forgiveness. from our transgressors, ourselves and our GOd.

11.) in prayer, God has not promised to give us what we ask as though He were a genie in a lamp. instead it is significant to note that God has promised instead, to send PEACE that passes all understanding. and to this date, everytime my heart burns, and i pray in desperation, He has brought me peace.

12.) god comes to those who need Him the most. in our frailty and desperation, we need Him so much. there's no need to put up strong fronts with God or each other.

13.) the power of the heart is so strong that it has the potential to cripple a life and make you useless. only God can work on a person's heart this way

14.) nothing happens by coincidence, everything is deliberate and planned by God for our growth in Him. most of the time, we're too ambivalent to the signs that He sends. only in our suffering do we become sensitive to everything, especially Himself.

question for thought- how does one glorify god in suffering?