Irene In Christ

I wrote about the events leading up to my wilderness years in my previous post. You can read it  here .  Today, I would like to share an interesting story. A story about wilderness, about Jonah and about a fish.  As I shared previously, my family was not Christian. I only accepted Christ when I was in Uni.  As with a lot of older generation Chinese, my parents were not pro-Christians. So, it was no surprise m y mum was furious when she found out that I had "converted".  The first time I went back home during the semester break after accepting Christ, I contemplated hiding the truth. These were the facts I was considering at the time: I knew my mum would oppose me being a Christian.  I knew it would be a horrible semester break if I were to tell her the truth.  I also knew that if I kept quiet and just be like usual, she wouldn't even have guessed.  I knew I could pray for God's forgiveness. (Surely He knows better than me how scary angry my mum co...

If you haven't read my previous post on how I went through seasons of being lost (before being a Christian) and then my subsequent seasons of being found and yet still feeling lost (a lost Christian, sad but true), you can read it  here .  And this is me journaling my story, or rather my journey with God.  To say that I grew up  in a malfunctioning family would not be an understatement. My parents were not exactly in good terms throughout the later years of their marriage, my teenage years. I watched them quarrel intensely, throwing things and slamming doors. I watched them giving each other silent treatment. I watched them progressively avoiding each other whilst living under the same roof.  And I'm sure everyone knows how typical Chinese parents can be, especially fathers. Although I wouldn't say my dad is the most distant and "no hug" type of father, he was after all a typical Asian father. The fact that both my parents were very protective and controlling ov...

I would like to ask you a simple question - who are you?  It really is the most basic and essential question in life, isn't it? Well, at least it's the most fundamental question concerning our being in this world.  Most people, if not everyone, seek and search for the answer to this question all their life.  I know I did. Questions like who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is the purpose of life? Is there a God out there? And with so many religions existing in the world, is the "Tua Pek Kong" whom my parents worshipped the God ?  And then, there's the big question - Who is God?  (Please tell me that you asked these questions too.) I accepted Christ when I was 24. So, a long 24 years of searching.  But, the funny part is that even after knowing God and becoming a Christian, some of these questions remained unanswered or unclear.  I love God, I (tried to) spend quiet time everyday, I read the Bible (although not diligently, I have to admit 😂), I p...

In my last entry , we looked at why Sarah only conceived 25 years after God gave His covenant to Abraham. But while pondering the answer, I also realized that I couldn't recall if a time is mentioned in the scripture. When God gave Abraham the covenant, did God tell him when it will be?  Can you imagine being Abraham and hearing God said this to you -  “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” and  “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. So shall your descendants be.” (Gen 15:4-5) If I were Abraham, of course, I would be overjoyed upon hearing the promise. Yet at the same time, I would also want to know when.  God, praise You for the promise! But erm, when ah, God? When will the 'one who come from my own body' come?  I don't know about you, but I would surely love to know the "when" in addition to the "what". 😁 So, as I read through the accounts carefu...

A beloved brother in Christ recently posed a question: Why did it take 25 years for Abraham and Sarah to have a son, Isaac?  From the answer to this question, there is much that we can learn and apply to our lives. My brother wrote these 2 lovely articles which I recommend you to take time to read: In giving the answers to why it took 25 years, he also explained how, by  judging God faithful , Sarah finally conceived.  He then encouraged us to look beyond the promise to the Promiser.   " Look at the Word God has spoken to you and look at the God behind that Word." For me, when I read the question, I said in my heart - because Sarah did not believe she could bear Abraham a son. Let us first look at Abraham's response when God spoke to him - Although Abraham did laugh (Gen 17:17), in many more other instances, we see that he  believed and obeyed (E.g.  Gen 12:4, 12:7, 15:6, 17:23).  How about Sarah?  The account of Sarah listening in the tent door...

Update: I previously titled this entry as the "4th part of my reflection on Jacob's life". However, I felt that it wasn't a fitting title, so I've renamed it accordingly.  In John 4, we read of the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.  As I read the account, I couldn't help noticing a few things.  Source: Internet 1. Note how the woman of Samaria addressed Jacob.  John 4:11-12 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” We know that Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (John 4:9) and yet this Samaritan woman identified Jacob as " our father who gave us the well ".  What's more? This woman knew about the Messiah. She not only knew bout Him, she also knew that He is coming, and that when He comes, He knows all thin...

Today, we continue reflecting upon lessons we can learned from Jacob's life. And today's thoughts are specially for parents.  1. Beware of the wrong labels you have either deliberately or subconsciously put on your children. By naming Jacob Jacob, Isaac had, in essence, called Jacob a deceiver. That is a deliberate labelling. Ignorant, maybe, but definitely deliberate.  That's why what we name our children are so important. For myself, even before getting married (in fact, even before I had a potential candidate to be married to), I have known I wanted and have prayed for a boy and a girl. A boy named Daniel and a girl named Esther.  So choose your children's name wisely.  Be aware also of your subconscious labeling of the children. For example, when others compliment or acknowledge your children, what is your response? I tend to disagree and say what I felt is more true. Especially in my son's case - I will reiterate his limitations. Often, I caught myself even as ...

Continuing on with my reflection on Jacob's life, today I will be touching something that may be quite controversial.  Romans 9:13 tells us that God has chosen Jacob over Esau.  As it is written,  “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”  This is taken from Malachi 1:2.  Let's take a look at Malachi 1:2-3 and  Romans 9:10-13   for a moment.  Mal 1:2-3  “I have loved you,” says the  Lord . “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the  Lord . “Yet Jacob I have loved; 3  But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.” Romans 9:10-13 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac  (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but o...